Enjin 51

ENJIN 51 NOV/DEC 2010 1Cover printed on Zanders Zeta Linen supplied by Antalis South Africa

STRAAT

Number 51 Nov/Dec 2010

cover price r35

T h e wo r d o n t h e s t r e e t i s l o c a l w h e n i t c o m e s t o g l o b a l c u l t u r e

e s s e n t i a l k i t f o r c r e a t i ve p r o sawa r d s 2 0 1 0

l o e r i e s , p e n d o r i n g s , b o o k m a r k s s a p p i t h i n k a h e a d 2 0 1 0

2 ENJIN 51 NOV/DEC 2010

ENJIN 51 NOV/DEC 2010 3

imprint

COVERImage by Sean O'Toole

EDITORGregor Naudé [email protected] CONTRIBUTING EDITOR (CAPE TOWN) Herman Manson [email protected]

DESIGN & ART DIRECTION François Smit, QUBA Design & Motion [email protected]

ADVERTISING SALES Gregor Naudé [email protected] EDITORIAL CONTRIBUTORS Herman Manson, Larissa Elliot, Miranthe Staden-Garbett, Jarred Cinman, Sarah Britten

PUBLISHERSoftmachine Media, PO Box 91938, Auckland Park, 2006

PRODUCTION Enjin Magazine is produced with Adobe CS 5

PAPERCover printed on Zanders Zeta Linen supplied by Antalis South Africa. Text printed on Sappi Triple Green supplied by Sappi Paper and Paper Packaging South Africa COPYRIGHTContributions are welcome. All due care will be taken with material submitted, but the magazine and publisher cannot be held responsible for loss or damages. The title ‘Enjin’ and logotype are registered trademarks. Neither this publication nor any part thereof may be reproduced by any means without the written permission of the publisher. The views expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the publishers

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TJD

R (C

T) 3

2831

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THIS IS A TRASHPAC™AN INSTANT TRASH TO FUEL CONVERTER.For more information on Trashpac™ visit www.dixiv.com/trashpac and sign up for products of the future.

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Combining the mechanics of a trash compactor and a charcoal briquette press, the TrashPac™ reconstitutes your trash as combustible fuel blocks. Simply drop in all your household trash and switch it on. TrashPac™ fuel bricks are ideal for cozy winter fi res and summer holiday braais. It’s eco-friendly, slow-burning and 100% odourless.

Deposit your trash in the top, switch the TrashPac™ on and in no time your trash is converted and compressed into slow burning, eco-friendly fuel bricks.

TrashPac™ is available in three kitchen-friendly colours.

32831_Enjin Print Ad_320x245E.indd 1 11/22/10 5:22:27 PM


i m p R i n TI DID IT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .03

c o m m e n TSILLY .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .09

p l A k b o e kTHE WALLS ARE OPEN .. . . . . .10

n e wCURIOUS COLLECTION .. . . . .12NEW EPSON MEDIA .. . . . . . . . . . .13TRANSPARENT PAPER .. . . . . . .13

R e S o u R c e SGOOD BOOKS .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14MUST-HAVE APPS .. . . . . . . . . . . . . .16

e S S e n T i A l k i THP .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18EPSON .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19ADOBE .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20MICROSOFT .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21APPLE .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22PANTONE .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23WACOM .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24BIG MEDIA DRIVES .. . . . . . . . . . . .26AJA .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30NVIDIA .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31BLACKMAGIC .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32SONY .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33

wo R kKOOKED .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34MUNKEN JOURNAL .. . . . . . . . . . . .36

p R o F i l eSA BURGER .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39

F e AT u R eKEEP IT LOKAL .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43

R e v i e wLOERIES UNPACKED .. . . . . . . . . .48DIGITAL LOERIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .50THE PENDORINGS .. . . . . . . . . . . . . .52SAPPI THINKAHEAD .. . . . . . . . . .56THE BOOKMARKS .. . . . . . . . . . . . . .60MAGAZINE SUMMIT .. . . . . . . . . .62FRAMED .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .64DISGUSTING .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .67

d i R e c T o RySERVICES .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .68

c o n T e n T S


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©2010 Iomega Corporation, Iomega, the stylized “i” logo, and StorCenter are registered trademarks or trademarks of Iomega Corporation in the U.S. and other countries. EMC is a registered trademark of EMC Corporation. Vmware is a registered trademark of Vmware Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.

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c o m m e n T

It is the silly season when it comes to local advertising awards. There's a glut of them – from the grand daddy of them all – The Loerie Awards – to The Bookmarks – each with its own particular reason for existence. A relative newcomer to the creative awards scene, The Bookmarks has defined itself by taking a hard stance when it comes to dishing out the precious metal. However, organising the event evening is where the real danger lies, as our Cape Town contributor Herman Manson reports on page 70. We also bring you the breakdown on the digital awards handed out at the Loeries, show you that the taal is alive and well at the Pendorings, and look at the future generation of communication design practitioners at the annual Sappi Thinkahead Awards.

In our two feature articles in this, the final issue for the year, Miranthe Staden-Garbett takes a look at Pretoria art collective SA Burger – it makes for enjoyable, tongue-in-cheek reading; in the second feature, Larissa Elliot defines popular culture in a global context, while encouraging creatives to keep it local. Happy reading!

Gregor Naudé

silly season

Bearing in mind that Munkedal in Sweden, where Munken paper is manufactured, was previously a monastery, this third edition of Antalis’ Munken journal builds on last year’s biblical theme. The Munken ‘Book of Creation’, designed by Grid Worldwide, is a re-interpretation of the biblical story of creation paralleling it with the creative process. Win one of five of these inspirational journals. Simply tell us where Munken originates and send your answer, together with your contact details and a phone number to us. [email protected]

win a munken journal!

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©2010 Iomega Corporation, Iomega, the stylized “i” logo, and StorCenter are registered trademarks or trademarks of Iomega Corporation in the U.S. and other countries. EMC is a registered trademark of EMC Corporation. Vmware is a registered trademark of Vmware Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.

Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.

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p l A k b o e k graffitiART or CRIME?

Graffiti developed in ghetto areas where it is used to demarcate “ground” and show control of property amongst gangs.

...graf style has been incorporated into many other commercial displays of design but there is still some thing uniquely graffiti like about actual graffiti.

SA artist RASTY plays with metatextuality

painting a drawing of drawing a sketch,

similar to a drawing by M.C. Escher

This piece by DELTA looks as if it is coming of the wall

as if it was a sculpture, because it is.

This piece by DAIM looks like it is coming of the wall,

it isn’t, but it might as well be considering his care/skill.

go to www.purpleslinky.com or search for Daim.

SA artist TAPS shows us how to make

a garage door worth looking at

by SA artist TYKUNO

Graf inspired commercial work

by TYKUNO

RASTY plays with form and

self-reflection in these two works

3D style by DAIM

check www.tykuno.deviantart.com by SA artist TYKUNO

Graffiti is a distinct art form. Many artists play with the form of their “found” canvas, making counter-intuitive use of their real environment.

compiled by michael jaspan


p l A k b o e kn. : an interaction with your visual surroundings, whereby using them as a pallet to express your potential with use of design, usually done with spray paint...

Many of the graf artists

today work in creative

fields as well as doing

mural design as a source of

income. They take comfort in

the fact that some of their

works hang in galleries and

they’re not simply doodling

on your walls.

...graf style has been incorporated into many other commercial displays of design but there is still some thing uniquely graffiti like about actual graffiti.

by SA artist TYKUNO

RASTY plays with form and

self-reflection in these two works

Commercial work by RASTY

The Euro master SEAK shows us how to paint in a dark abstract style bending the

classical perception of graffiti

3D style by DAIM

check www.cnskillz.com

check www.tykuno.deviantart.com by SA artist TYKUNO

South African graf artists can hold their own as far as skill and technique go, but also have their own unique sense of style.


refreshed

Ag e n dA / pA p e R / m e d i A / pAc k Ag i n g

a r j o w i g g i n s r e s h a p e s c u r i o u s c o l l e c t i o n

The Curious Collection from Arjowiggins, which includes the Metallics, Translucents and Touch families, has always been recognized as offering daring and cutting-edge papers. For the relaunch of the Curious Metallics and Translucents ranges, by anticipating current and upcoming fashion trends, new colour palettes featuring new shades have been designed in collaboration with top trend studio, Studio Edelkoort in Paris. The new shades have been designed to meet the demands from the luxury, design, communication and cosmetics sectors. A mix of bold and bright colours with softer tones puts the collection at the forefront of creative papers. The ranges also feature strong colour harmonies with subtle interplays and matches between families, in order to provide designers with a fresh and high impact approach to reinvent packaging, communication and design materials. Arjowiggins has also designed a waterfall swatch highlighting the contrasting monochrome shades within the new colour set, providing designers with fresh paper choices.

Said Caroline Coughlan, marketing manager at Antalis, "The Curious Collection has been a success story since its inception, and it has always been important for Arjowiggins to continuously refresh the range – ensuring it continues to lead industry trends. The overriding objective with this new collection is to capture colour trends in design and fashion, for customers to benefit from the most impactful communication. Also, as a range created specifically with designers in mind, the rejuvenation campaign has been developed to showcase the papers in news and surprising ways – encouraging designers to push creative boundaries and think outside of the box." All papers in the Curios Collection remain fully FSC certified, making them ideal for designers looking for a creative and sustainable paper solution. The Translucent Collection is made from 100 per cent pure cellulose fibre, without the use of translucentising chemicals – it is recyclable and completely acid free.

www.antalis.co.za


e p s o n u n ve i l s n e w m e d i a

Building on the success of its quality-assured Digigraphie print solution, and responding to its customers’ requirements for a dedicated, high-quality fine art and photography media range, Epson has launched its Signature Worthy brand (it also represents a way for users to clearly identify the products in its premium media line-up.) The new range includes Epson’s highest-quality cut-sheet media products that enable the best print results for artists and photographers alike. When used in combination with Stylus Pro print technologies and UltraChrome inks, the Signature Worthy media delivers Digigraphie-approved results allowing fine art and photographic artists to produce limited, certified editions of their original works, as well as guaranteeing exceptional image quality and durability, according to Epson. Kelvin Reynolds, general manager, Epson Southern Africa, said, "Launching the Signature Worthy brand is an important step for Epson as it will allow our customers and end users to more easily identify our premium media. These media options, as part of the Digigraphie solution, enable artists and photographers to add value to their limited edition prints, so it’s vital that they are accurately identified and used to their best advantage. “We have a reputation for our image quality and Digigraphie capabilities, and are confident that the new Signature Worthy brand will help reinforce our position as a leader in high-quality photographic and fine art image reproduction."

www.epson.co.za

f r i e n d l y t r a n s p a r e n t p a p e rNew from Papersmith, EnDURO Ice, with its visual elegance and quality feel, allows many surprisingly creative graphic, packaging and stationery solutions. EnDURO Ice is a semi-synthetic material made in Germany by SIHL GmbH. Similar in appearance to conventional transparency papers, but actually a paper-film-paper combination, EnDURO Ice offers more durability and easier handling than traditional transparent papers. EnDURO Ice offers easy printing with standard offset inks and normal drying procedures with no extra handling required. EnDURO Ice can be also converted easily, avoiding many of the difficulties associated with conventional transparent papers. According to Papersmith, there are no whitened edges when folding, and die-cutting is also trouble free. Stitching, punching and laser printing are all possible. Another distinct product advantage is the strength of EnDURO Ice, making it durable, longer lasting and tear resistant. EnDURO Ice is available in a range of weights from 80 to 270gsm ex stock – with more weights available on request.

www.papermsith.co.za

Ag e n dA


l o g o l o u n g eLos Logos: Compass 404 pages, full colour, hardcover Publisher: Gestalten

With a new look and editorial approach, Los Logos: Compass remains the authoritative reference on contemporary logo design. Like its predecessors, Los Logos: Compass offers a definitive overview of current developments and advancements in logo design — the creative discipline that shapes the identities of brands, companies and individuals. Comprised of 404 pages, and in a larger format than used in the past, Los Logos: Compass offers a rich, high-quality selection of up-to-the-minute logos that readers have come to expect. But the focus of the publication has been further sharpened from a comprehensive documentation to a competent classification of prevailing tendencies in logo design. In addition to illustrating the various co-existing design approaches and trends that are shaping logo design today, and will continue to influence it in the coming years, the book showcases outstanding work by noted designers in short text features. Los Logos: Compass aims to be not only an archive of current design, but to educate designers and clients about which approaches make the best fit for a given project independent of the latest trends. This issue is especially important in a challenging economy in which innovation and identity are essential. This fifth edition in the Los Logos series is not only a source of inspiration and an authoritative reference manual, but also a valuable compass that shows that every design problem is a variety of creative opportunities in disguise.

books

Ag e n dA / R e A d

AmbigrAms /DoppelgAnger /pre-school / minD the gAp /orientAl /liquiD / liquiD /lithogrAphic /erAsure /

scrAtch /toothpAste /

op-Art /mAnDAlA /

signAture / tApe /

monogrAms /tube /

pAtterns / DAtA /

compass

los l ogos

Today, corporations are opting for eco-friendly logos previously associated with local or-ganic brands while street-style outlets are choosing sober looks once the domain of in-surance companies. In this time of economic and aesthetic upheaval, visual identity counts more than ever; yet all are free to pick their own tailored blend of specific visual codes. At first glance, the logosphere has turned into a jungle and a reliable guide comes at just the right time. This Compass edition to the Los Logos series serves as a trusty naviga-tor for charting an effective course in today’s logo design.

/Los Logos: Compass

offers A Definitive overview of cur-

rent Developments AnD ADvAncements

in logo Design — the cre Ative Disci-

pline thAt shApes the iDentities of

brAnDs, compAnies, AnD inDiviDuAls.

In a larger format than its predecessors in the Los Logos series, the book offers the rich, high-quality selection of up-to-the-minute logos that readers have come to expect. But the focus of this publication has been further sharpened from a comprehensive documentation to a competent classification of prevailing tendencies in design.

With chapters illustrating the various co-existing design approaches and trends shaping logo design, plus text features showcasing noted designers, Los Logos: Compass aims to educate designers and clients on which approaches make the best fit for a given project independent of the latest trends.

/in A chAllenging economy where in-novAtion AnD iDen-tity Are essentiAl, the book serves As A vAluAble com-pAss thAt shows thAt every Design problem is A cre- Ative opportunity in Disguise.

LL05_cover_template_190710.indd 1 20.07.2010 12:31:05 Uhr

Ch.10 | Data

248

Data | Ch. 10

249

04 Luke Williams 05 xy arts

03 Grandpeople

06 General Projects

02 Luca Barcellona

01 HelloMe

08 nohemí Dicurú07 Via Grafik

01 one8one7

03 La Cáscara Amarga

02 Mash

04 Base

Ch.10 | Data

248

Data | Ch. 10

249

04 Luke Williams 05 xy arts

03 Grandpeople

06 General Projects

02 Luca Barcellona

01 HelloMe

08 nohemí Dicurú07 Via Grafik

01 one8one7

03 La Cáscara Amarga

02 Mash

04 Base


t y p e g r o o veRetrofonts 624 pages, full colour, hardcover Publisher: Mark Batty Publisher

Presented in the style of old type-specimen books, Retrofonts from Mark Batty Publisher features over 360 of the most eye-catching and timeless fonts designed between the middle of the nineteenth and the end of the twentieth centuries. Organized into nine chronological sections with titles like "Fin de Siècle and Simplicissimus" and "Walkman, Rubik’s Cube and Gen X," the fonts catalogued in this impressive volume provide a glimpse of the historical, political and cultural context out of which they sprang. But Retrofonts gives readers more than fonts on the page – the book includes a CD with 222 copyright-free fonts, making it an invaluable tool for graphic designers, typographers and art directors. The professional-quality fonts given away in Retrofonts can be used in myriad ways, while also informing and inspiring readers. Side by side with the type specimens, examples of the fonts in use demonstrate the aesthetic sensibilities of bygone eras. From 1950s brush scripts to the collage-inspired letterforms of the 1980s and beyond, the fonts author Gregor Stawinski examines exemplify decade-defining design trends, helping today’s readers refine their understanding of what was in style, when.

Ag e n dA

7978

fin de siècle and simplicissimus art nouveau and japonism

86 87Augsburger SchriftHiH, after a 1902 modelwww.hihretro.com


110 111



Ag e n dA / S h o p

cool apps like these

s e i z e c o n t r o l

Blackmagic Design Videohub Control for iPad

Blackmagic Design's Videohub Control for iPad is new control panel software that allows Apple's iPad to become a powerful and attractive XY control panel for all Blackmagic Design Videohub series routing switchers. In the past, router control panels have only been designed as rack mount boxes that are expensive and have poor quality displays. With the latest generation of hand held computers such as the iPad, it’s now possible to get a large, vibrant touch screen computer with great design at a price that’s a fraction of the cost of custom hardware-XY router control panels. Videohub Control takes these advantages and turns the Apple iPad into an incredible router control panel that’s fast and attractive. Because the software is free from the Apple App store, it’s easy for customers to download it direct to the iPad. Simply go to the App store on the iPad and search for "Videohub". Once downloaded and set up, it will connect to the Videohub router over the network. The buttons can be assigned to sources and destinations and with attractive icons for intuitive router control. Users simply press the buttons on the interface, and the router crosspoint changes. Videohub Control takes over the entire iPad interface and runs full screen. When the iPad is mounted on walls or on racks, its incredibly thin size makes it an ultra modern and extremely attractive looking control panel – which will suit the décor of the most modern post-production facility.

c o l o u r c r a z y

myPANTONE for iPhone and iPod touch

New from Pantone is the myPANTONE app for iPhone and iPod touch. The idea of having Pantone Colour libraries on your phone is cool, and myPANTONE is simple, user friendly and allows you to create colour palettes that you can share via e-mail, the web or post directly to Twitter or Facebook. It’s great for collaborative projects or presenting clients with colour options. Imagine walking by an Italian bistro where you spot a patterned tablecloth. You launch myPANTONE and take a picture. The Auto-extraction feature creates a colour palette based on the colours in the image. You can use that palette in the travel brochure you’ve been working on, or to redecorate your kitchen. Just as useful is the View in Layout feature. You can view and move colour swatches over wood, marble or any image. Fashion designers, interior decorators, and graphic designers alike will love this feature. It’s not all good news. PANTONE is synonymous with colour accuracy, but don’t expect myPANTONE to be. There are too many variables that aren’t the fault of the app. If your iPhone display is really bright or if your images are dark, the app will read and display the colours that way. myPANTONE does display RGB, LAB and HTML colour builds, so you can reference those to get the exact colour you want.


Simply LaCie. Design by Starck.U S B D E S KTO P A N D M O B I L E H A R D D R I V E S

Designed exclusively for LaCie by Philippe Starck

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HP has unveiled web-enabled, cloud-friendly printing solutions that allow anyone to print anything from anywhere in the world. The company introduced two content devices designed to serve the access and print needs of digitally connected consumers. In addition, the company is offering HP ePrint on all new HP Photosmart devices, as well as direct printing from Apple iPad, iPod touch and iPhone devices with iOS 4.2.

n e w d e v i c e s

The HP Photosmart Premium All-in-One combines the full features of an HP All-in-One with web browsing and access to HP print apps and widgets – plus a detachable, 7-inch full-colour touchscreen. Additional features include access to e-books as well as one-touch access to customized content various online sources. The HP

Photosmart Premium All-in-One is available immediately for an estimated price of R2 599. The HP Premium e-All-in-One is a slim-line printer designed to complement modern home décor and features a high-resolution touchscreen display, quiet operation and a retractable paper tray. The Energy Star qualified all-in-one is, according to HP, the planet’s first PVC-free printer and is expected to be available worldwide in December for R2 399.

wo r k h o r s e

HP also announced the HP Designjet Z6200 photo printer series with HP Vivid photo inks, delivering high-quality output and the highest speeds of large-format printers in its price class, according to HP. Designed for photo labs, digital print shops,

advertising agencies, design firms and commercial printers, the printer delivers photo-quality prints with a resolution of 2 400 dots per image (dpi) and versatility for indoor applications – from line drawings to photographic output to signage. It is also 50 per cent faster than its predecessor with speeds up to 140m2 per hour. New Vivid photo inks offer improved scratch resistance, gloss levels and gloss uniformity, and a wider colour gamut with deeper blacks than previous HP inks. The printer’s 8-ink printing system also features HP Chromatic Red ink, which enables up to 88 per cent Pantone coverage and greater ink efficiency with the ability to print the same output using up to 44 per cent less ink than preceding technologies. No pricing was available at the time of going to press. www.hp.com/go/graphic-arts

print from anywhereh p a n n o u n c e s n e w p r i n t s o l u t i o n s t o e n a b l e r e m o t e p r i n t i n g

k i T / p R i n T


k i T

A n e w e p s o n 1 7 - i n c h p r i n t e r o f f e r s p r o f e s s i o n a l p h o t o g r a p h e r s a s u p e r - w i d e c o l o u r g a m u t w i t h a u t o m a t e d c o l o u r a c c u r a c y

great prints

Epson has launched the Stylus Pro 4900 – a compact, 17-inch production printer setting new standards in colour precision for the photography market. Delivering the best print quality for commercial photographs and fine art reproduction, the printer boasts outstanding colour consistency and accurate colour matching, and can reproduce 98 per cent of all Pantone colours, according to Epson. Its high level of automation and robust mechanism make the Epson Stylus Pro 4900 a highly productive workhorse for the small office or studio environment. Creating exceptional photographs and fine art images is easy, thanks to one of the widest colour gamuts on the market. The companuy says colours on the print are identical to that of the original image, even when reproduced on a wide range of media. The optional inline SpectroProofer ensures repeatable colour accuracy when using different media, and automatically measures colour charts when creating ICC profiles. Every print has a professional finish with

precise and consistent colour reproduction. This comes from the printer’s first-class colour matching capabilities, coupled with Epson’s 11-colour UltraChrome HDR inks and Advanced-TFP print head for superior dot quality. These inks and technologies are identical to those used in Epson’s larger format production printers up to 44 inches. The Epson Stylus Pro 4900 represents a big boost in productivity, with a production speed of 46m2/hour and minimal maintenance requirements. A high-capacity front-loading cassette makes inserting paper easy, and automated paper changing means no time is wasted switching between cut sheet and roll paper. The printer also switches automatically between photo and matte black inks, with both installed to avoid stopping the print run. All inks come in high capacity cartridges for less frequent changes and better value. The Stylus Pro 4900 retails for R25 295. www.mustek.co.za


Adobe has released a new version of its Acrobat PDF creation and editing software. Acrobat X Pro gives users many new features, including the ability to manage and track files (including Word and other file types) for a particular project with PDF Portfolios. This new release is sure to make the Acrobat-reliant user happy. Acrobat Reader’s browser-based interface has also undergone a major revision since the last iteration. Before, viewing a PDF within a browser gave the user two sets of interfaces, as the PDF controls are nested within a page underneath the browser’s own controls. This "nested interface" has been confusing for some users, especially if they wish to carry out tasks such as printing the document. With the new minimal interface, basic functions such as printing, searching or moving forward or backward in the document can be called directly from the

browser menu items or shortcut keys. In addition to these features, Adobe has started offering a new service that allows users to share PDFs through an Adobe-hosted location on the Web. The service also offers a set of capabilities hard to replicate with e-mail, such as the ability to generate reports of who viewed a document. One major new feature in the new Acrobat X, called Actions, allows administrators to set up a custom workflow that walks users through a sequence of actions they should take when creating a PDF. For instance, an organization can set up an Action for cleansing a PDF of metadata before it is released. Acrobat X extends its use of Adobe Flash. Over the past few versions of the format, Adobe has expanded PDFs to contain not only text documents but also audio, video, three-dimensional renderings and other media-rich content. With this release,

Acrobat has a number of pre-built Flash templates that can be used as interactive tables of content for PDFs containing multiple elements. Advanced users can use the Adobe Flex developer environment to build even more custom directories. Acrobat X is also fully integrated with Microsoft SharePoint, allowing Acrobat files to enjoy all the privileges of Microsoft Office files. Acrobat X Professional for Mac and PC is priced at R4 299; upgrades cost R1 899. The Acrobat X suite retails for R12 999. www.acrobat.com

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suite life

T h e n e w Ac r o b a t X p r o a d d s g r e a t n e w f e a t u r e s


The new Microsoft Office for Mac 2011 adds the once-scorned "ribbon" interface that debuted in Windows’ Office 2007, drops the Entourage e-mail client in favour of a Mac flavour of Windows’ Outlook and restores Visual Basic-based macros. Several new or restored features in Office for Mac 2011 were long requested by veteran users, particuarly a closer cousin to Windows’ Outlook and the return of macros. Both were especially important for IT staffers who had to figure out how to integrate Macs into their organizations, and users bent on having tools equal to their Windows brethren.

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"Nowadays, compatibility means more than just file formats," Microsoft’s Kurt Schmucker said. "It’s also workflow,

collaboration, and user interface." To that end, the new version of Office incorporates document-collaboration features that take advantage of Microsoft's online storage features. With Office for Mac 2011, Mac users are able to share files and collaborate on documents with other Mac and Windows users via Microsoft's SharePoint, SkyDrive and Office Web Apps. Those online tools allow users to collaborate on documents with other Windows and Mac Office users in real time. You could, for example, create a document in Word on your laptop, save it to SkyDrive, then share it with others. A pop-up in Word will show you who’s working on the document; click on that list, and you’ll be able to send them a message (as long as everyone is using Outlook or Microsoft’s Messenger IM application). You’ll also be able to edit those same documents from any computer, using Office’s Web apps.

Further, Mac users have the same experience in their versions of Safari and Firefox as Windows users get with their browsers.

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Microsoft has not committed to include Apple’s iPhone and iPad. Nor has it publicly discussed bringing its Office programs to the iPhone. The new suite comes in two editions, down one from its predecessor: the R1 299 Home and Student edition, and the R2 499 Home and Business edition. The latter includes Outlook and a longer stretch of free technical support. www.microsoft.com/mac

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office romanceA n e w a p p l i c a t i o n s u i t e d e s i g n e d f o r m a c


October saw the release of an updated 13.3-inch MacBook Air, which superficially resembles its predecessor. But there’s also an entirely new 11.6-inch model. And none of the revamped MacBook Air models comes with a hard drive: instead they rely on flash storage built into the motherboard. Both MacBooks are thinner than what Apple offered before: 0.68 inches at their thickest, tapering to 0.11 inches. (The last generation ran from 0.76 inches to 0.16.) They’re also lighter: The 11.6-inch model weighs 1.06 kilos, the 13-inch 1.32 kilos. The MacBook Air features a full-size keyboard as well as the glass trackpad found on other Apple notebooks.

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What’s more, because the flash storage takes up less room than a hard drive, that leaves

space for a bigger battery. A bigger battery means better battery life: The company claims the new 13-inch model will give you 7 hours of wireless productivity on a single charge, compared to 5 hours before. (The 11.6-inch model tests out at 5 hours, presumably because its battery isn’t as large.) The flash storage also means these new Airs are 'instant-on': You can leave the machines in standby mode for up to 30 days, Apple says, yet they’ll revive instantly and let you resume working where you left off. Among the other differences: Graphics are now handled by NVIDIA GeForce 320M processor (the same chip as in the current MacBook); the graphics processor shares its 256MB of DDR3 memory with the system RAM. Instead of one USB 2.0 port, both new models have two; both have the same single Mini DisplayPort, and the 13-inch model has an SD card slot too. Instead of a single mono

speaker, the new Airs have stereo. The primary difference between the two MacBook Air configurations comes in the size and resolution of their LED-backlit screen. The 11.6-inch MacBook Air features 1366 x 768 resolution, while the 13-inch model offers 1440 x 900 resolution. The 1.4 GHz 11-inch MacBook Air with 2GB of memory and 64GB of flash storage starts at a suggested retail price of R8 999, with a 128GB model for R11 499. The 1.86 GHz 13-inch MacBook Air with 2GB of memory and 128GB of flash storage starts at a suggested retail price of R12 999, with a 256GB model for R14 999. www.zastore.co.za

razor bladeA p p l e u n ve i l s t wo n e w m a c b o o k A i r s o f f e r i n g wa y m o r e t h a n j u s t s p e e d b u m p s

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Available exclusively through South African distributor Art Board are Pantone's new Universe Twin Tip marker range and stationery. Art Board is a specialist importer and distributor of artist and graphic materials, as well as specialised papers and mount boards, supplying a comprehensive product range suited to artists, designers, illustrators and art schools. Pantone Universe has been branded as the comeback for the new Pantone Twin Tip marker and stationery range. The new markers have been re-designed with a sleek dimensional and angular shape, winning a coveted design award in its class

upon its launch in Japan. Its look is crisp, fashionable and high-tech, while offering the expected performance from alcohol-based coloured inks – and is ideal for layered tonal graduation. The array of 150 colours are all Pantone colour specific, with each marker being identified by both a visual coloured headed cap as well as the Pantone Colour System international reference number. Each marker comprises a brush nib and broad nib which offers various permutations in application. Pantone Universe has been extended to include a range of stationery – which is also colour-coordinated against the Pantone

Colour System. This upmarket designer stationery range will undoubtedly add visual appeal to any design studio. Art Board has a national network of retail resellers that are strategically positioned around the country to ensure availability and accessibility of all its products. Stockists include Showbiz (Cresta), Beaux Art (Benoni), PNA (Melville), The Real Paper Company (Cape Town) and Archneer (Pretoria). For dealer information: admin.artboard @gmail.com; 011 450-2418

universe of colour

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Wacom’s newly remodeled Cintiq 21UX offers a new pen capable of capturing the slightest nuance of pressure against the LCD surface, as well as offering 2048 levels of pressure sensitivity, double that of the previous Cintiq, says Wacom. The new Grip Pen also features a pressure-sensitive eraser and two side switches that can be customised for commands such as double-click and right-click. With a new ergonomic design, the Cintiq comes with eight fully programmable ExpressKeys, located on each side of the display’s bezel, which are instrumental in helping improve workflow and boost productivity by placing commonly used application-specific commands close to hand. Pressing the top ExpressKey loads an on-screen display showing the settings of all the ExpressKeys and Touch Strips, minimising dependence on the keyboard while maintaining focus on the pen hand.

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Also new to the Cintiq 21UX is the introduction of two user-defined Touch

Strips, located on the back of the bezel, and two Touch Strip Toggle buttons which control the function of the associated Touch Strip. An illuminated LED on the perimeter of the Toggle button indicates the current function of the corresponding Touch Strip. Fully application-specific, the Touch Strips can be used for up to four functions such as zoom, scroll, brush size adjustment and canvas rotation per application. Users can now "toggle" with their thumbs while using their forefinger or middle finger to control Touch Strip speed and variation. Locating the Touch Strips on the back of the interactive pen display rather than the front prevents accidental contact when, for example, users employ flowing brush strokes and extend them beyond the screen’s border. The new Cintiq comes with a patented stand, which allows users to recline the interactive pen display at any angle between 10 to 65 degrees to match the user’s ideal working posture. Additionally, the Cintiq can be rotated up to 180 degrees in either direction to take advantage of natural drawing movements or offer a different viewing angle.

Standard felt and stroke nibs are provided, simulatling the feel of working with a variety of traditional art and design materials. According to Wacom, the new Cintiq shares the same technology platform with the Intuos4, making it fully compatible. Also new is an Art Pen, which turns on the rotation feature in Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator and Corel Painter 11 to deliver natural brush effects. Much like a calligraphy pen, as well as an airbrush, the Art Pen has similar form and finger-wheel control as a traditional airbrush, and enables users to create and define paint patterns within certain creative programmes. The new Cintiq could easily replace your main monitor, which is a relief considering its price. It is expensive, but for designers or animators it is a worthwhile investment in productivity and enhanced control. It retails R26 250. www.directservices.co.za; 0860 DDS 000

real estateT h e n e w l y r e m o d e l e d wa c o m c i n t i q 2 1 u X p r o m i s e s e n h a n c e d p e n p e r f o r m a n c e a n d i n n o va t i ve e r g o n o m i c s


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The Intuos4 Wireless is approximately the same size as the Intuos4 M tablet and offers a drawing area approximately A5 in size. Wacom says it fits easily into most laptop bags. It uses Bluetooth to connect to desktop and laptop Macs and PCs, so can be used up to 10m from the computer. It can also connect via USB, which also allows the device to be charged. The tablet has the same 2 048 levels of sensitivity as the rest of the Intuos4 range, and supports the full range of pens and brushes. The tablet has an asymmetrical design that puts the Touch Ring and the customisable ExpressKeys on one side of the tablet, making them all available to the user’s non-dominant hand. Wacom says that the ExpressKeys are instrumental in helping improve workflow and boosting productivity by placing commonly-used commands right at the user’s fingertips. Illuminated (OLED) displays provide reminders as to the function of each ExpressKey. These settings are application-specific, and

the displays will immediately update as the user changes between applications. To switch the tablet from right-handed to left-handed use, the user rotates the tablet 180 degrees and changes the orientation of the illuminated icons within the Wacom tablet driver software. The Touch Ring on the Intuos4 Wireless is capable of controlling up to four different functions in any application. A button located in the centre of the ring "toggles" the ring between application-specific functions such as zoom, scroll, brush size adjustment or canvas rotation. The position of the illuminated LED located along the perimeter of the Touch Ring indicates the current function. The Intuos4 Wireless ships with Autodesk SketchBook Express 2010, Corel SketchPad and Adobe Photoshop Elements 6. It retails for R4 150. Review products supplied by DDS. www.directservices.co.za; 0860 DDS 000

wire lesswa c o m h a s l a u n c h e d t h e i n t u o s 4 w i r e l e s s p e n t a b l e t , w h i c h a l l o w s y o u t o wo r k u n t e t h e r e d f r o m y o u r c o m p u t e r

real estate


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Most people realise how important it is to have an external hard drive that you can use to make back-up copies of your important files. However, buying separate hard drives for everyone in your studio can quickly become expensive – and prevents creatives from sharing project files. A more cost-effective solution is to buy a NAS (network attached storage) drive that can be connected to your studio’s network. Hard drive manufacturers make a range of suitable NAS drives, but while they all perform the same basic function, they also have many different features that set them apart from each other. On the following pages we look at devices that are perfect for users looking for simplicity, or just keeping an eye on their

budget. Most have interfaces simple enough for the non-techie creative to set up and maintain, and are quiet enough not to disturb in even the smallest of studio spaces. One important feature is the ability to create shared spaces – special folders that individual users can set up on their NAS drive to share files with other people, or which can be password protected to keep things private. If you want to set up personal folders for several different people then easy-to-use products such as the LaCie Wireless Space are a good choice for less technically inclined users. Other products, such as the Iomega StorCenter, provide an even wider range of features that will particularly appeal to business users, but they may require a little

more technical know-how. The other option – which splits this group right down the middle – is RAID (Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks). RAID drives allow you to make mirror copies of your files on two separate hard disks housed inside the drive. Making back-ups of your back-ups might seem a bit extreme – but if you’re using your NAS as a hub for projects, it’s an essential duty. Even if you’re using it solely for back-up, you should consider it worth paying a little extra for the peace of mind provided by a RAID drive. Some drives come crammed with extras, including iTunes servers, mirrored RAID support and advanced networking controls for business users. Careful shopping is essential.

big media drivesp r o v i d i n g f a r m o r e t h a n n e t wo r ke d s t o r a g e , b i g m e d i a d r i ve s d o u b l e u p a s

g r e a t m e d i a s e r ve r s


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LaCie has three network-attached storage products aimed at small to midsize studios. All three products feature aluminium enclosures that anyone familiar with LaCie’s other offerings should recognize, as well as faster processors than their predecessors, Gigabit Ethernet and new widget-based interfaces. They can be expanded or backed up through included USB 2.0 or eSATA ports. Additionally, the LaCie Network 2 line ships with Intego Backup Manager Pro for Mac, and Genie Backup Manager Pro software for Windows. The d2 Network 2 is a single-drive model that comes in 1TB and 2TB configurations. It can be connected to your network over Gigabit Ethernet or directly via USB 2.0. A two-drive model, the 2big Network 2 comes in 2TB, 3TB and 4TB configurations. It can be set up as either RAID 0, striped for fast performance, or as RAID 1, mirrored for a higher level of data protection. The third and final addition to the line is the 5big Network that holds (you guessed it) five drives with capacities ranging from 5TB to 10TB. With the extra drives, the 5big Network has more RAID options available, including RAID 5, which can protect data with one drive failure, and RAID 6 which can tolerate two drives failing without data loss.

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LaCie has also introduced its first network-attached storage solution to feature Wi-Fi. The LaCie Wireless Space can operate as a file or media server for multiple Mac and PC users. The Wireless Space can connect to your existing Wi-Fi network, allowing you to access files wirelessly throughout the home, and can serve as a central storage solution for all your backups. If you wish to increase your Wi-Fi performance, the Wireless Space can also act as a b/g/n access point, and even serve as a full-featured router. For users with a large media library, the Wireless Space can also act as a media server. It’s compatible with UPnP/DLNA and iTunes, and you can stream music, movies and photos from a central location and play them on any device. Additionally, the Wireless Space is Time Machine

compatible, so Mac users can use it as a target for their automatic backups. For PC users, LaCie offers Genie Timeline Software for scheduled backups. The Wireless Space is designed by one of LaCie’s favourite designers, Neil Poulton, and offers a sleek, polished black casing which promises natural heat dissipation and near-silent operation.

Review products supplied by DDS. www.directservices.co.za; 0860 DDS 000

For speed freaksApple might have no plans to support USB 3.0 just yet, but thanks to LaCie certain Mac users can now enjoy the blazing high speed transfer rates that Intel's latest version of the technology offers. The storage company has announced the availability of a free USB 3.0 driver for Mac OS, which, when installed and used in conjunction with a USB 3.0 expansion card, gives users full USB 3.0 compatibility. USB 3.0 has a theoretical peak speed of 5 gigabits per second, but in real world tests LaCie says it registered speeds of up to 130 mbps for single hard drives and 220 mbps for dual hard drives. By comparison, USB 2.0 has a theoretical maximum of 480 mbps and FireWire 800 tops out at 800 mbps. To enjoy the benefits of USB 3.0, you'll need a USB 3.0 PCI Express Card or a USB 3.0 ExpressCard/34 and a compatible Mac Pro or MacBook Pro running OS X 10.5 or later. And, of course, you'll need a USB 3.0-compatible hard drive from LaCie.


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io m e g a S t o r c e n t e r

Aimed at small business and home users, Iomega’s StorCenter ix2-200 offers cheap network storage – and can double as a media server. It’s a killer combo: you get a big roomy drive for Time Machine, and a no-setup server for storing loads of music and movies. Your media is accessible by any Mac or PC on your home network — as well as Apple TV and the Xbox. Your files are also accessible over the Internet. There’s a built-in video player so you can watch downloaded files through the StorCenter's browser interface; it plays video encoded in popular formats like .avi and divx, so you don't need to download VLC or Perian. According to Iomega, the ix2-200 can serve five simultaneous HD video streams at the same time, and support about twenty users at the same time. It serves up media not just to Macs, Windows and Linux PCs, but UPnP devices like networked TVs and game consoles, including the Xbox and PlayStation 3. It’s preconfigured to share through iTunes and automatically shows up in iTunes as a shared device. The ix2-200 is configured through a browser interface, which is very intuitive. It's easy to add users, share folders, set storage quotas and set up an FTP server. It’s got a gigabit connection and two drive bays. Drives are user replaceable, and it’s easy to add extra storage – just plug external drives into the three USB ports. Iomega says the ix2-200 is pretty green. It uses new green drives and automatically spins them down when not in use. It also supports Bluetooth for backup and storage for smartphones. There’s a front panel ‘quick transfer’ button for automatically copying files to and from USB thumb drives, flash memory cards and external USB drives. It can also initiate pre-set network copy jobs, which is useful for things like offsite backups. There’s a bunch of other features you'll likely never use — like iSCSI for fast data transfers and support for up to five networked security cams. But that’s all good. The iX2-200 is a great, full-featured package that’s not just a dumb hard drive but a capable addition to any home or office network. It comes highly recommended.

www.iomega.com

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ve r b a t i m m e d i a s h a r e

Many homes today have more than one computer, creating the need for consumers to share or access their digital content from either the comfort of a living room or sitting in a café or classroom. Now Verbatim has provides a consumer-friendly device that stands apart from other consumer network storage products with both hardware and software features in several key areas. Above all, its design in a sleek and sturdy aluminium enclosure makes it a stylish accessory for consumers’ homes. Viewing photos, playing music, downloading or uploading files from any internet-connected computer by remote access is very easy with the MediaShare. The www.myverbatim.com portal allows users to seamlessly upload and share photo albums directly to social networking sites such as Facebook and Flickr. Moreover, users can create albums and automatically email links to family and friends who can view or download photos directly over any internet enabled computer. Music can be streamed easily to iTunes users on any computer connected to the home network. The MediaShare can also be used to display photos or play music on a flat screen TV through DLNA-enabled devices such as digital media players, Playstation 3 or XBox360. MediaShare comes with a simple, user-friendly interface to retrieve, store and share files. Using the unique Easy Transfer button, consumers can upload content directly to the server from any portable hard drive, flash drive or single slot card reader connected to the front USB port. MediaShare also supports Apple Time Machine for Mac users or Windows Backup, allowing users to back up content located on a networked computer. [email protected]

b u f f a l o t e r a s t a t i o n

Buffalo’s TeraStation family has looked in danger of being an also-ran for a while now, but the latest TeraStation III aims to remedy this with a host of new features. First up are hot-swap hard disks, welcome replacements to Buffalo’s quick-swap feature that required the appliance to be powered down before they could be exchanged. The TeraStaion III supports drives up to 2TB in size and RAID5 arrays. Processing power receives a boost from 500MHz to 800MHz, while memory is upped to 512MB. The USB port count remains at two, but you now get a pair of Gigabit ports that support load-balanced and failover teams with six teaming policies to choose from. The new NAS Navigator 2 utility locates the appliance and provides access to network shares and a drive-mapping service. The web interface can be reached from here and this sees some major graphical refreshment. The system came preconfigured with all drives in a RAID5 array, but it’s easy enough to change to mirrors or stripes, and the appliance supports two separate arrays and hot-sparing as well. Client support is good with Windows, Mac and Linux clients, and the appliance offers a local user database for access security, or it can integrate with an AD server. FTP services can be activated on selected shares and secure FTP transfers are also supported. The Extensions tab on the web interface shows Buffalo has acknowledged multimedia, although you get only a DNLA server and no iTunes support. WebShare looks more useful, as this allows you to designate shares that can be accessed remotely over the internet via a web browser. The TeraStation can now function as a destination for the Mac OS X Time Machine service. For workstation backup, Buffalo now provides Memeo AutoBackup. It has the ability to back up new or changed files in real-time, which could be useful. The Buffalo TeraStation III brings in some much needed enhancements and includes a good selection of backup facilities. Considering the price includes 2TB of storage, it does look good value at around ten grand. www.directservices.co.za


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AJA has brought production and post one step closer together with the introduction of Ki Pro Mini, a smaller, lighter version of its breakthrough Ki Pro portable tapeless recorder that captures to Apple's ProRes 422 codec directly from camera.The highly portable Ki Pro Mini flash disk recorder mounts easily to digital cameras and accessories, enabling it to fit unobtrusively in small spaces for on-set capture of 10-bit 4:2:2 files that are immediately ready for editing. Ki Pro Mini offers a small form factor and support for SDI and HDMI cameras. Key features include:

• 10-bit full-raster recording to Apple ProRes 422 SD and HD formats (including HQ, LT and Proxy)

• Recording of SD/HD files from digital video cameras to Compact Flash (CF) cards

• Professional video connectivity through SD/HD SDI and HDMI I/O• 2 channels of balanced XLR audio with switch selectable line/mic levels• 8 channels of embedded digital audio over SDI and HDMI• Flexible control options including familiar front panel and web browser

interfaces • Optional Ki Pro Mini Mounting Plates that attach to hot shoes, battery

plates and virtually any other accessory bracket• Aircraft-grade aluminium construction that delivers light weight and

maximum ruggedness. Ki Pro Mini supports a streamlined Apple file-based production-to-post workflow, recording native Apple ProRes 422 QuickTime files onto CF cards, which are formatted as HFS+ volumes that are instantly connected to a Mac computer via off-the-shelf CF card readers. "Anywhere a camera can go, Ki Pro Mini can follow," said AJA president Nick Rashby. "It’s smaller than some battery packs and mounts to virtually everything. We designed Ki Pro Mini for any sized production that needs seamless 10-bit file-based acquisition – it’s about extreme portability and going from lens to post in a flash." Ki Pro Mini simplifies the link between production and post by unobtrusively fitting in small spaces and acquiring on the best codec for use with Apple Final Cut Studio, AVID MC 5, Adobe CS 5 and more from any SDI or HDMI camera, regardless of format. The Ki Pro Mini retails for R18 195. The Ki Pro, including 250GB of storage, retails for R36 430. The reseller is Touchvision Digital Media. www.touchvision.co.za

mini meT h e k i p r o m i n i h a s b e e n d e s i g n e d a s a f i e l d r e c o r d e r f o r c r e a t i n g r e a d y - t o - e d i t p r o d i g i t a l v i d e o


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To achieve the best possible video editing experience within Premiere Pro CS5, Adobe has built the new Mercury Playback Engine on the CUDA parallel processing architecture of Nvidia’s graphics processing units (GPUs). When used together, Premiere Pro CS5 and Nvidia Quadro cards provide professional video content producers with the ability to create multi-layer, effects-laden video projects, and play them back directly on the timeline – in real time. For the first time ever, Adobe users can now create compelling sequences with multiple streams of high-definition video, apply high-end processing effects such as Fast Color correction, UltraKeying, Gaussian Blur effects, Garbage Mattes, scaling, motion and blending, while also being able to view the output in real time (without having to render previews and without having to reduce the working playback resolution). As the Mercury Playback Engine is built on

CUDA, it enables Nvidia GPUs to deliver performance that outpaces CPUs by orders of magnitude. Nvidia Quadro products that are currently certified by Adobe for use with Premiere Pro CS5 include the Quadro 5000, Quadro 4000, Quadro FX 5800, Quadro FX 4800, Quadro FX 4800 for Mac and Quadro FX 3800. (Video editors who use graphics cards from other companies are currently only able to access the unaccelerated software version of the playback engine). For the first time, Premiere Pro users can experience the enhanced colour fidelity and tonal range offered by combining an Nvidia Quadro solution with a 30-bit video display. By offering 64 times the number of the colours which a 24-bit screen can display, 30-bit allows for the highest degree of accuracy when colour-grading video. To enable real-time video processing, engineers at Nvidia worked closely with Adobe. By moving core visual processing

tasks in the Mercury Playback Engine to CUDA, the team was able to create highly efficient GPU accelerated functions with performance gains of up to seventy times. Video processing functions which are able to take advantage of the high-speed memory interface between the video DRAM and the GPU benefit from the 100 GB/second transfer rate, which allows multiple effects to be processed in parallel before being passed back to the playback engine. The high-performance architecture allows for the video data to be stored with 32-bit floating point precision, which means visual data retains high levels of precision throughout the rendering and playback process. No pricing was available at the time of going to press. Nvidia Quadro cards for PC and Mac are available from Learn3D.

www.learn3d.co.za; 011 326-1520

super chargedn v i d i a r e l e a s e s n e w ve r s i o n s o f i t s u p s c a l e Q u a d r o g r a p h i c s

c a r d t o s u p e r c h a r g e Ad o b e p r e m i e r e p r o


Blackmagic Design recently took the wraps off UltraStudio Pro, in what it says is the world’s first broadcast-quality SD/HD capture and playback solution for USB 3.0. UltraStudio Pro combines the latest broadcast technology in an attractive ultra-thin design that fits into modern client-friendly post production environments.UltraStudio Pro offers the mind-blowing speed of the new USB 3.0 interface, which is ten times the speed of regular USB – it easily has enough speed for the highest quality uncompressed 10-bit HD video with the maximum real time effects possible, according to Blackmagic Design. UltraStudio Pro’s innovative design looks great on the desktop while hiding the cables behind the unit. With dozens of audio and video connections built in, the new style of design is critical to keeping cables hidden so

editors can keep their studio neat and clean. The UltraStudio Pro’s chassis is machined from solid metal with high grip silicon feet, so it’s strong enough to withstand harsh broadcast environments and won’t move around when heavy cables are connected. UltraStudio Pro also includes audio level meters for accurate audio level calibration. UltraStudio Pro provides a massive number of video and audio connections including 3 Gb/second SDI, HDMI, analogue component, composite, s-video, 4 channel analogue audio, 2 channel AES/EBU audio and RS422 deck control connections. It even includes a broadcast-quality breakout cable, so users will save hundreds of rands because they don’t need to purchase expensive professional video and audio cables. An independent SDI output is included that is down converted for simultaneous HD and

SD monitoring. A new built-in hardware up, down and cross converter lets you edit in one format, and then output to any HD or SD format. Selection is possible between letterbox, anamorphic 16:9 and 4:3 video formats. "I am so excited by how much leading edge technology we have been able to build into such a thin design", said Grant Petty, ceo of Blackmagic Design. "I think UltraStudio Pro will help make high-quality editing more exciting because, with USB 3.0, we have more freedom to be creative in how we design products – the result is a wonderful solution that looks great, hides the cables, works as an audio level meter and is incredibly compact and portable." www.blackmagic-design.com

fast video for usb 3.0b l a c k m a g i c d e s i g n u n ve i l s t h e wo r l d ’ s f i r s t b r o a d c a s t q u a l i t y S d / h d c a p t u r e a n d p l a y b a c k s o l u t i o n f o r u S b 3 . 0

k i T / S h o o T


fast video for usb 3.0

Vegas 10 is the latest version of Sony’s HD video- and audio-editing application. The application provides broad audio and video support for media ingest, editing and delivery workflows. New features in the 32 and 64-bit versions of Vegas Pro 10 include stereoscopic 3D editing tools. Additional features include enhanced closed captioning, broadened video effect support and new event level audio effects, as well as workflow and user interface enhancements. Here's a list of new features: Stereoscopic 3D editing Vegas Pro 10 facilitates the creation of 3D projects by enabling users to import, adjust, edit, preview and export stereoscopic 3D projects with no additional tools or plug-ins. While fully compatible with the latest 3D TV technology, anaglyph viewing is also provided, making it possible to preview in 3D on any monitor Better closed captioning Improved support for closed captions enables broadcasters to preview captions in the Preview and Trimmer windows for increased accuracy and ease of editing. Other improvements include increased support for line 21 closed captions, HD-SDI closed captions, multiple closed captioning file types as well as the ability to export captions for Sony DVD Architect, YouTube, RealPlayer, QuickTime, and Windows Media Player.

Expanded Multicam functionality Updated Multicam feature provides a more robust editing and preview experience by offering the ability to view the Multicam source clips and the full-screen edited program output simultaneously Improved support for DSLR videoPerformance improvements make editing video from popular DSLR cameras faster and easier Track grouping This update offers a quick and easy way to organise and manage complex projects by grouping related sections of video and audio together for a cleaner working environment Advanced transport controls UI modifications offer more efficient access to important editing tools, providing a more intuitive workflow while improving overall productivity Image stabilisation New stabilisation tools greatly reduce jittery or ‘shaky’ video sometimes caused by hand-held recording Video effects plug-in architectureVegas Pro 10 now offers completely new video effects plug-in architecture based on the Open Effects Association standard. This open standard was created from the combined experience of the leading companies in the visual effects realm. The new architecture is accessed by a software development kit, which is more powerful and reduces the developer’s workload by

automating UI – both of which will benefit editors by expanding greatly the available visual effects for Vegas Pro 10 GPU accelerated AVC encoding Users with CUDA-enabled nVidia video cards are now able to encode to the Sony AVC format with improved rendering performance and speed Device support Sony continues to add expanded device support with each new version including HD-SDI adapters, Sony NXCAM cameras, and broader support for DVD and Blu-ray optical burning drives Audio Event FX For more precise control over the placement of audio effects, Vegas Pro 10 allows editors to assign audio effects at the master output, bus level, track level and now the event level for greater flexibility when working with multitrack projects Input busses Input busses now enable editors to record, mix and monitor audio from external hardware devices VU meters The Vegas Pro Mixing Console view becomes even more powerful with the addition of VU metering Track meters Track meters provide direct feedback and a faster editing workflow throughout the record, edit and mix process.Sony Creative Software is distributed by Phoenix Software. phoenixsoftware.co.za

the pros go to vegasS o n y ' s ve g a s p r o 1 0 h d v i d e o - e d i t i n g t o o l g e t s a m a j o r m a ke o ve r

k i T


S t u d e n t e n t r i e s s h i n e a t A n t a l i s A r t o f d e s i g n 2 0 1 0

For the 2010 Art of Design competition, Antalis received a record number of 750 entries in the 7 commercial categories and eighty entries in the student category named ‘Ready Steady Kook!' Through the student category, Antalis hopes to encourage creativity, design with thinking and some form of typographic learning to students. For the 2010 competition, it made available unique font

glyphs provided by Joshua Darden Studio in New York. Said head judge, Lorraine du Plessis, "We spent hours deliberating, debating and democratically voting for each winning piece. In

the main I was impressed by the quality of the work produced by the students, which was intelligent, gutsy and practical. The work ranged from the classically restrained to the wildly modern, and showed a lot more insight into the design industry than in previous years. The distance between outstanding and pedestrian remains considerable, however, and I can’t help but wonder if this does not

indicate a lack of technical guidance. But most exciting for me was the home-grown originality and integrity of many of the designs."

Breinstorm's Eben Keun, who designed the Call for Entry, said, "The font glyphs were supplied to students to enable a learning process similar to that of the old-school letterpress process, where kerning and leading had to be done manually. It was also

intended to give students the opportunity to work with world-class typefaces – too often students design with a repertoire of fonts that doesn’t stretch beyond Helvetica and Times New Roman. The winning entry was a superb rendering of ‘handmade’ type. "I enjoyed the approach of a single stamp made and applied to various surfaces in the branding process. The execution was a good

example of strategic creativity and challenged the notion of which kind of business and what audiences deserve good design." First Place went to Cally Tarin May from Greenside Design Centre for Urban Beef; Second Place went to Lara Orchard from AAA School Of Advertising for Tikulu Wine Farm, and Third Place went to Martin Joel from Vega the Brand Communication School for Sizwesburg Barbers. A Merit Award was awarded to Brent Swart from the Tshwane University Of Technology for Mug & Shebeen.

www.antalis.co.za

kooked1st Place Urban Beef – Cally Tarin May, Greenside Design Centre

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Enhance your movies with music

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T h e n e w m u n ke n j o u r n a l e x a m i n e s t h e d i f f e r e n t s t a g e s o f c r e a t i o n

In the beginning was nothing...and then came the brief. Recently, Antalis SA commissioned Grid Worldwide to develop and design the third in the series of Munken journals. The brief: showcase the Munken range of papers. Beautifully designed by Collette Wasielewski and Mariette Koorts, the journal is split into 7 sections – each addressing a different day/step of creation – from the advent of the brief (followed by darkness of soul and mind) through research, ideation, presentation and implementation to solution and rest (suggested hobby pages included). In short, the notebook is not only a journal but also a reference book with handy links and resources for each step of the design process. Printed by Mortimer Offset and binded by Haste Book Binders, the journal has been section sewn and utilises a unique open-cold glue binding method. Because of this, Grid chose FSC certified De Halm, a high-quality flat grey chipboard weighing in at a hefty 1107 g/m². The cover has an eye-catching, intricate design which was clear foiled, embossed and then hand spray-painted using a stencil. The De Halm cover is laminated onto the end pages printed on 300g/m² Munken Pure, providing strength and stability. The seven sections, all printed on 170g/m² Munken Lynx, each feature a different stage of the creative process, while showcasing a unique print technique – these include one colour prints, spot colours, fluorescent ink, holographic and other foils, metallic ink, blind embossing, a magnificent laser cut and even a photograph of a paper sculpture. The text pages are printed on the 90g/m² Munken, and contain on line references, paper references and formats, common folds, print techniques, quotes, presentation speak mash-up, buzzwords and product information, providing the creative with useful tools while still offering clear space for them to make notes, design, doodle, illustrate – in fact, do just about anything. “Inferior paper can make even the best design seem average. Grid and Mortimer were able to get the most out of their design and printing,” said Antalis marketing manager Caroline Coughlan. Versatile Munken handled all the print techniques in the journal with consummate ease." Antalis is currently running a Munken promotion until the end of December 2010, where designers stand a chance of winning a Mac as well as an Apple iPad.

in the beginning

wo R k / j o u R n A l


delicious burger

p R o F i l e

I first came across SA Burger in Pretoria in June this year. While producing an artistic product, they call themselves a brand. More pertinently, they reject the terms 'artist', 'designer', 'art' and 'anti-art', preferring to define themselves as conscious citizens in support of imaginative activation – deeply insecure, pro-life, but not strictly Catholic – and what they do as seeking to find a way of engagement between what is inside and around them, demonstrating relativity in everyday events and communicating this using the media of the day. Their first official project (seen on these pages) comprises of rich and complex images suggestive both of 17th century Vanitas paintings and contemporary advertising. While the basic strategy of seductively displaying a selection of iconic objects is familiar, their traditional functions are at opposite poles, each definitive of the cultural milieu in which they were created: the former religious, spiritual, a cautionary baroque tale of deceptive beauty and transience; the latter materialist, commercial, encouraging desire of, attachment to and identification with objects, and celebrating the transience of earthly things. Quoting and juxtaposing these genres is just one strategy employed by SA Burger to perplex and intrigue, while exploring archetypal humanity from the specific vantage point of the 21st century. In this interview we find out more about them, and what, if not quite precisely, they think they’re doing.

Who or what is SA Burger?An autonomous creative collective with globally distributed collaborators. SA Burger claims to be an entity separate from the individuals that comprise it. What does each individual bring to the collective?Collaborators bring different skills and motives to the endeavour. To this end individual identity is less important and organisational intergration more salient. 1+1= 11. You have mentioned that this is the first of SA Burger’s projects? Why have you chosen this particular medium and approach? What other types of projects/actions does SA Burger envision?Photography is ubiquitous and the most accessible to the widest audience – we envision that which the medium implies – it remains a question of dissemination and distribution. So it may spill into other platforms – the internet, fashion, civic and commercial action.

T h e c i t i z e n s o f S A b u r g e r s u p p o r t i m a g i n a t i ve a c t i va t i o n , w r i t e s m i r a n t h e S t a d e n - g a r b e t t

�Report, SA Burger, 2010�Nitemare, SA Burger, 2010�Eye, SA Burger, 2010

Images courtesy of SA Burger


e X h i b i T

On the global stage, who would you compare yourselves to?Hamlet. Can an artist be a brand?Yes. How would you define a brand? What is the future of branding? What is the relationship of branding to identity? A brand is a set of promises, values and deliveries upon those promises. Brands are the measure of diffusion and change in a culture of global exchange. They are an extension of one another. What is your earliest memory related to art?Putting things in our mouths and chewing them. What according to SA Burger is the difference between art and design? Do you think there is an ongoing need to rethink these categories?These are nothing but superficial divisions – it is a question of medium and message management to deliver certain changes of status in society at large. The post recent tendency is for simultaneous convergence and disruption of patterns. The art/design debate has become a matter of logistics and market forces – SA Burger considers both positions as over subscribed to the point of saturation and escape velocity. Which historical artist or movement resonates deeply with your own sensibility?

Situationist International. San shamen. Dada and the Cabaret Voltaire. Maybe Lynch and Cronenberg too.

Which contemporary artist do you have the greatest respect for? Does this artist have a direct influence on your own work?Beuys, Duchamp, Warhol. And in South Africa, Roger Ballen. Not directly. Refer to cover of the Beatles Sgt. Pepper’s by Peter Blake, but in a contemporary setting, their influence on the way we live now. What theorist/philosopher/writer would you consider relevant to an understanding of this project?Hassan I Sabbah and Paul Virillio are honorary patron saints. If these images had a musical equivalent, what would it be?Captain Beefheart’s saxophone arrangements. The tectonics of Vladislav Delay. Beatles’ White Album. Talking Heads’ Remain in Light. The silence of John Cage. David Toop’s idea of the listener as a medium. What if any is the social responsibility of the artist/designer?Equivalent to any other profession. We honour the same codes a dentist might, or a bus driver, or anyone that does a specific thing for a variety of affects. We serve and project.


e X h i b i T

Who is your target market? The thinking and the knowing, active viewers and participators that are not content with consumption of edification and entertainment only, those who amuse themselves and others – creative people. Very much in the Habermasian area of communicative action.

What effect do you want to have on a viewer?To say yes to the ‘if ’ in life.

The idea of citizenship is suggested by your entity’s name. Who does SA Burger pledge allegiance to?We are world citizens – all of us. We are constantly figuring out how to respond to both the challenges and opportunities afforded by a world in motion. We like the ‘unity in diversity’ idea. Why the choice of Afrikaans name?It is not Afrikaans. What about being SA Burger do you like best?The freedom to be a rhizome to some, and a till slip to others. The objects that appear in these images represent a collective yet personal history, both individual and universal. To what extent do you think your microcosmic collective psyche can speak about and to the macrocosmic psyche?The objects speak for themselves. The viewer may or may not arrive

at a point of cognitive surplus. These compositions and images speak volumes about the chaos and ironies of contemporary human life and the human condition. What types of conversations emerge as you create these tableaux? Philosophical conversations linking the sublime with the ridiculous. There is some laughter and a fair amount of technical discussion regarding the optimising of various creative options open to the situation. In a way it is the opposite of psychoanalysis. You have described these works as spiritual, sexual, psychological and superficial? Could you comment on this?The works have the same relationship as dreams to reality. Using these ploys of product advertising, you portray a peculiar, playful and deeply unsettling combination of objects and narratives. To what end are you toying with your viewer’s state of mind? Only the viewer is qualified to answer this question. We hope you receive letters and some blogging brouhaha ;) How is this process shaping your mind?We are experimenting with various means and modes and moods of expression. We do things by trail and terror. We try things and if they work we press on. If they do not we change tack.

�Hothead, SA Burger, 2010 �Pigs, SA Burger, 2010


keep it lokal

F e AT u R e

Mainstream refers to the culture that formed part of American and European life in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. These ideas appear in mass media, survive on heavy exposure and, for a time, form part of our everyday vernacular. They are downloaded onto our iPods, live on our Google searches and dominate our magazine covers. Pop culture is constantly evolving and is a result of a very unique time and place. It constantly renews itself – and it is the innovation and fresh thinking of young people that ultimately determine exactly what makes it into the realm of pop culture. Against cultureOne of the most interesting and creative reactions to pop culture is counter culture. Counter culture addresses the selections and portrayals of pop culture icons and symbols. It is rarely sentimental or romantic – instead it likes to be attacking and honest. Though often cloaked in humour and parody, it can be biting. Mostly, it seeks to question and alter accepted modes of representation. Darth Vader is an example of an icon of pop culture that has been knocked off its pedestal by the counter-culture movement. This once revered overlord of darkness has been reappropriated and juxtaposed with banality and satire, and suddenly he no longer presents a threat to the universe. As such we may see him sword fighting with the Obama doll, enjoying a spring day captured in an Impressionist painting, cleaning his helmet, and so on.

Bank on itCounter culture is thought-provoking, difficult and often rewarding. Many regard the British street artist Banksy as godfather of the counter-culture movement. Banksy is motivated by personal beliefs – and introduces them to the masses via the city’s biggest canvas – the street. He utilises popular icons and symbols we walk past every day without question, and forces us to confront them. Many of you may know Banksy’s prolific street art pieces – these incorporate large, simple stencils. These stencils serve a practical purpose of course, as the work can be applied quickly, allowing him to make a quick getaway after application in public spaces. The gritty nature of the stencils also attribute to the raw, authentic statements of his work. My favourite Banksy pieces are those referencing classical or 'high-end' art. These pieces would be produced by classically trained fine-art students, determined by guidelines and regulations of fine art standard, and occupy the galleries of notable art museums of Western cultures. Banksy instead chooses to juxtapose these pieces with everyday truths, and they become humourous – for example, Van Gogh’s flowers wilt and a pie in the face of an esteemed aristocrat is hilarious. Banksy also posts artwork on his website to be viewed and used by the pubic, not guarded in galleries. Utilisisng counter-culture devices, he devalues these pieces, ignores the rules and reminds us that the strength behind pop culture is that it is determined by the public and

p o p u l a r c u l t u r e d e f i e s e a s y c l a s s i f i c a t i o n , b u t e ve r y o n e a g r e e s o n t h e n e e d t o ke e p i t l o c a l , w r i t e s l a r i s s a e l l i o t

�Spoek Mathambo


F e AT u R e

not institutions. He places the paintbrush back in our hands. An interesting thought is that the very thing he despises he seems to have become a part of. Though notoriously private, he is probably the most iconic street artist of the twentieth century. His elusiveness has become attractive and the demand for his pieces has increased – even increasing the value of a building sporting one of his pieces. He recently completed a collaboration with Matt Groening by customising the infamous intro-sequence for an upcoming episode of The Simpsons. He has also completed a feature-length documentary, Exit Through The Gift Shop, which aims to expose a few myths behind the artist. It does not succeed in revealing much, but does entrench Banksy’s status as a pop culture icon of the street art movement. Africa as subculture The African continent is being plugged as a new field of inspiration – and the indigenous creative language is being integrated into mainstream markets. Africa’s presence in fashion is nothing new, but it is starting to gain greater exposure as it appears on the bodies of A-list celebs populating the red carpets and runways in America and Europe.This endorsement is propelling it into the limelight and increasing demand. At New York Fashion Week, Gwen Stefani showcased a new collection for her successful L.A.M.B. fashion label, featuring suits and dresses in traditional west African fabrics. In 2009, infamous British fashion designer Jeremy Scott collaborated with international sportswear brand Adidas to create safari-inspired leisurewear for young people.

They featured leopard prints and graphic tribal masks. Playful and kitsch, they were also highly successful. He also referenced traditional Ghanaian Kente cloth and applied it to a sneaker design. Some have dubbed it 'cartoon savannah'. Africa has also gained greater presence in mainstream music, and not since Paul Simon’s Graceland has its popularity been so widespread. The American indie-band Vampire Weekend references the traditional sounds of South African township music, even dubbing themselves “Upper East Side Soweto”. Many of you may know their hit Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa – based on an original song by Easu Mwamawaya. This traditional form of music is gaining new fans, popping up on mixtapes and dance remixes all over the world. Take it backCurrently, African creative culture is being appropriated to create fresh, exciting work. Noteworthy is how Banksy depicts his own insights as a young distinctly British artist. He often references iconography which relates to the British public and its history. As creatives, the strength of our work lies in conveying a unique experience of living in Africa. This is known as being 'self referential' and it is the most powerful tool at our disposal. As they say, “If you’re going to be a good writer, write about what you know." Several Africans utilise counter-culture devices and commentary on their unique experience living in Africa. They juxtapose their African origins with modern techniques to introduce us to new definitions of what it means to be an African today. Yinka Shonibare is an award-winning Nigerian artist currently

Images by Sean O'Toole


residing in the UK. He has gained international fame with his use of traditional African fabrics which contradicts imagery of colonisation. The figures remain headless and the fabric becomes the dominant element in the work. There is also a great tension between the very vibrant fabrics fashioned as quite reserved Victorian costumes. It suggests that he is creating a new discourse about Africa’s position in a post-colonial era. CNN recently profiled Paul Sika, a young photographer from the Ivory Coast, and dubbed him the 'leader of the creative class' slowly emerging from west Africa. He has gained success with his shots that depict the activity and personality of modern African life. His deeply saturated photos in luminous, acidic colour and streaks of light emphasise this. The images are elevated from the grit and dust we associate with African life, and they appear theatric and expressive. His work has been dubbed 'tribaltography'. Spoek Mthambo is a creative figure who may be recognisable to many of you – he is half of the South African music act known as Sweat X. His onstage personality and dress immediately reference his background as an African – he couples Madiba shirts with bright accessories and sneakers. His music is inspired by the 'doof-doof ' sound emanating from the speakers of taxis driving past, a sound classified as 'township-techno'. He was recently featured on the cover of Fader magazine, a prestigious music magazine in the States. His singles 'Mshini Wa' (a revision of Jacob Zuma’s old anthem 'Umshini Wa') and 'War on Words' are garnering a lot of attention there. His music videos also reflect the fusion of his African world view and modern influences, referring to it as 'afrofuturist'. They have dubbed him the 'original Zuluboy' as he walks the fine line embracing his African roots and remaining relevant to the mainstream. These African creatives highlight their African origins, not as a hindrance but as a strength. The confidence behind their work and explicit use of African cues has propelled them into the industry spotlight. I would like all South African creatives to question the inclusion of their personal cultural experiences and backgrounds into their work.

_Larissa Elliot is a Creative Director at Saatchi & Saatchi in Cape Town

F e AT u R e

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Price

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www.directservices.co.za | 0860 337 000Contact us for details of your nearest stockist. Prices incl. VAT & valid until 31 January 2011. Delivery Charges may apply. Price quoted for model CTL460


review• UNPACKING THE LOERIES 20 10 48• D IE TAAL HET HORINGS 52• SAPPI THINKAHEAD 2010 56• THE BOOKMARKS ANALYSED 60• MAGAZINE SUMMIT 62D ISGUSTING PARAPHERNALIA 67

AnAlySiS, ReviewS, opinion, peRSpecTive, TRendS, commenT

The Loerie Awards 2010


unpacking the birdsT h e 2 0 1 0 l o e r i e s

R e v i e w / AwA R d S

October 2010 saw the 32nd annual Loerie Awards take place at the Good Hope Centre in the Cape Town CBD. Although there was a strong influence of the World Cup in 2010, winning entries reflected a broad spectrum of the industry. The awards were judged by panels comprised of over 160 local and international experts in their fields and a total of 267 awards were handed out. Four Grands Prix were awarded:

• Boogertman + Partners Architects, Architecture and Interior Design entry for the National Stadium, ‘The Melting Pot’

• Grid Worldwide Branding and Tonic Design, Communication Design Mixed-Media Campaign for Comair/British Airways, ‘SLOW Lounge’

• VWV Group Experiential Live Event entry for the World Cup Local Organising Committee, ‘2010 Fifa World Cup Closing Ceremony’

• King James, for Allan Gray’s TV Commercial, ‘Legend'.

Lifetime Achievement AwardA Lifetime Achievement Award was posthumously awarded to Robyn Putter, former WPP Creative Head, for his outstanding contribution to the South African and global advertising industry over the course of a career spanning more than 30 years. Marketing Leadership and Innovation AwardGraham Pfuhl, Director: Marketing & Sales of Multichoice, received the Marketing Leadership and Innovation Award for his active contribution to the success of the Multichoice brand in our region, notably with the M-Net and DStv offerings. The Loeries committee recognised Graham as a marketer who believes that creative brilliance drives business results. He is an outstanding example of the leadership, dedication, loyalty and commitment that it takes to build a successful brand.

Ubuntu AwardThis year saw the launch of the Ubuntu Award, for brands contributing to social and environmental change. A Gold Loerie was awarded to Matchboxology for Levi's ‘Red 4 Life’ HIV awareness programme. Four bronze Loeries were also awarded in the category. SABC New Voice AwardThis year, the SABC New Voice Award for non-English Radio went to Draftfcb Johannesburg for the Vodacom campaign ‘Bua FM Part 2’ (which was also a winner in the main Radio category), the silver award also went to Draftfcb Johannesburg for Vodacom’s ‘AmaGugu’, and the bronze award went to TBWA\Hunt\Lascaris Johannesburg for the Standard Bank campaign ‘Bagasi’. Vodacom Mobile Media Digital AwardThis award recognised the recent growth in the use of mobile devices in the advertising mix. The award went to Gloo Digital Design for the ‘Juicy Details’ mobile advertising entry for Cosmopolitan magazine. Sappi Creative Use of Paper AwardThe winner of the 2010 Sappi Creative Use of Paper Award was Joe Public for the Clover Cooking Calendar. The award included a 17-inch MacBook Pro and R30 000 worth of Sappi paper. The SpaceStation Internet Advertising AwardMEMAC Ogilvy & Mather (Dubai) scooped the prize for their ‘Resize-A-Room’ online banner for IKEA. The award included R50 000 worth of media across the SpaceStation network. Young Creatives AwardNow in its fourth year, the Young Creatives Award recognises outstanding achievement by talented individuals at the beginning of their careers. This year the award went to Mbuso Ndlovu, Art Director/Designer at Y&R and Reijer van der Vlugt, Art Director at FoxP2. View the winning entries at www.loeries.co.za


R e v i e w



unpacking the digital loeries

A s a j u d g e i n t h e d i g i t a l c a t e g o r y, j a r r e d c i n m a n wa s p r i v y t o t h e i n n e r wo r k i n g o f h o w t h e w i n n e r s we r e c h o s e n

It's important to remember that the Loeries is unashamedly about rewarding creativity; that all-consuming, over-used and oft-criticised word that is presented as the visage of the advertising world. Watching the new season of Mad Men in the midst of awards season is almost required viewing as you see the phenomenon that is modern-day advertising as it came into being. For this reason, and particularly in digital, The Loerie Awards are often maligned as rewarding flashy nonsense that sells nothing. This is nothing new – for years, agencies have snuck around the rules by flighting obscure TV ads at 3am on a Sunday night merely so that they qualify. Still, there is perhaps something particularly egregious about winning awards in a medium that is so much about measurement and results, for doing things that don’t achieve either.

Gloo stickOnce again, Gloo Digital Design had a strong showing. Unlike last year, where many of their awards were concentrated on their Wicked Pixels entry, this year showed a wider spread. Among their winners were rich media banners for BMW and TopTV, Magic Moments (their hilarious campaign for FIFA), and several winners in the viral category, including the Lovebirds campaign for Woolworths and the video-based PUMA work. Gloo has shown a relentless ability to turn the judges' heads at awards. And this year was no exception. The quality of the work remains high, the company is masterful at selecting and entering pieces, and has an instinct for pleasing audiences. Whether these campaigns are achieving meaningful results remains an open question. Takeover banners that can be megabytes in size and require severe fiddling with sites to run them are controversial. But there is no arguing with the results that Gloo and its clients achieve during award ceremonies. If you’re looking for compelling craft in digital, the name Hello Computer will be in the top few without doubt. Mark Tomlinson runs a crew of talented designers and developers that produce eye-popping work time and again. Unlike the flurry of full service agencies on the boil at the moment (my own, Native, included), Hello Computer appears to be sticking to what it does best: acting as a powerful production house for top quality animation, design and games. The entry this year for Continental (the Power of Stop) is a brilliant little online game that rivals some console games I’ve seen for its graphical execution. How a specialist agency like Hello fits into the emerging digital agency landscape remains to be seen. Will they be acquired by some hungry agency group? Or attempt an ambitious merger like Native has done (with Quirk, perhaps?). This is all random speculation, but after this year’s awards, Hello Computer is looking like the hottest independent digital specialist around. If there’s an outsider in this very inward-looking industry, it’s Preston

Thomas. And if there’s anyone whose work stops you in your tracks, it’s this tiny business that is pushing multimedia and digital beyond imagination. The incredible interactive displays that Pixel Project has pulled off in several museums is so different from what almost any other digital company is doing, it deserves to stand alone. The gold awarded to Preston this year is so well deserved that I personally voted for a Grand Prix. It’s work that, perhaps, has little or no bearing on the future of digital or the larger online trends, but its contribution to South African innovation and pushing us to think differently is value in itself. Great craft, lack of conceptual skillA string of other agencies showed up this year, though there were few surprises. Stonewall+ took a single bronze, which we in the Native group are feeling proud of (if a little disappointed); Quirk earned a silver for the Harry Potter Twitter campaign; while AquaOnline managed a bronze this year; and then there is Cow Africa, Mesh, Etiket and a handful of others, each picking up a single award here and there. In general, I think the quality of the work was middling this year. Although there is fantastic craft out there, and our design and animation studios can stand up to the best in the world, we lack conceptual thinking and associated great ideas. We remain, for many complex reasons, a minor footnote on the international digital stage. And even locally, is there any campaign we can point to that had the impact of the Allan Grey TV ad that swept the boards at this year's Loeries? Except for Gloo, we’ve all got a job to do in upping our game. But that’s thinking too small. As an industry, we need to be chasing the RG/As of the world. That’s the great challenge before us.

_Jarred Cinman is one of the founders of Cambrient, which now forms part of Native

"The gold awarded to Preston (Thomas) this year is so

well deserved that I personally voted for a Grand Prix.

It’s work that, perhaps, has little or no bearing on the

future of digital or the larger online trends, but its

contribution to South African innovation and pushing

us to think differently is value in itself."


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A student affair

l o e r i e s S t u d e n t p o r t f o l i o d a y m a ke s y o u n g c r e a t i ve s f e e l r i g h t a t h o m e

In partnership with Adobe, the Loeries this year saw the launch of the Student Portfolio Day, taking place during Creative Week Cape Town at the Old Slave Church Museum on Long Street in Cape Town. This new initiative gave forty top students the opportunity to showcase their work to the thousands of creatives that flocked to Cape Town for the Loeries, with the intention of exposing young talent to the industry. "Adobe is proud to be associated with the Loeries Student Portfolio Day. We were overwhelmed by the positive response from industry in supporting the students who were showcasing their work at this event,” says Leonard Rabotapi, marketing manager in Africa at Adobe Systems. “We were astonished by the excellent quality of work, and hope and trust that these students will secure employment from our leading agencies." The institutions represented were AAA Cape Town, Red & Yellow School Cape Town, North West University, Vega Cape Town, Vega Durban, AFDA Cape Town, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Stellenbosch Academy of Design & Photography and Tshwane University of Technology. Each of these institutions had student finalists for the 2009 Loeries, and they each put forward a selection of their best students.

Ryan Rapaport, a student at Vega Cape Town, explained how the day gave them the opportunity to meet and show off their work to the creative leaders in the industry. “It was great to see the standard of work from the other institutions in South Africa and have the input and interest of the best creative minds in the business. This gave us a great opportunity to make invaluable contacts and get a few jobs offers in the process. All in all, a very enjoyable and successful event”. Nathan Reddy, chief executive officer of Grid Worldwide Branding and Design, and winner of the 2010 Loerie Grand Prix for BA/Comair’s SLOW Lounge, attended the Student Portfolio Day and comments, “I thought it was a great opportunity for the industry to catch a view of what’s out there. It was interesting to see how different institutions approach the professional world. A must going forward!” There were also positive reviews from the lecturers and navigators at the various institutions. “We really enjoyed the Student Portfolio Day. We are a small institute, so we are glad to get opportunities like these,” says Louise van Wyk from the Stellenbosch Academy of Design & Photography. “I had great feedback from all those who attended; this is something we would definitely want to do again next year." www.adobe.com/africa



With a theme of 'Praat die taal en bewys jou cool!', this year over 300 entries were judged by a panel of ten regular and four specialist judges, under chairmanship of the overseas judge, Leon Jacobs, ECD of Saatchi & Saatchi in Geneva. The results were also externally audited. Joe Public received the most recognition for its efforts this year, with a haul of four Gold and three Silver Pendorings but the Prestige Award went to Ogilvy Johannesburg for an Exclusive Books campaign. In the agency categories 10 Gold and 15 Silver Pendorings were awarded, while the student categories yielded 3 Gold and 2 Silver Pendoring trophies. Joe Public bagged gold for its newspaper campaign titled Hannelie, Melanie, Bettie for kalahari.net, and no fewer than three Gold Pendorings for its sterling work for Pendoring 2009. These include its poster campaign Bennie Boekwurm, Haas Das, Liewe Heksie, a Pendoring advent calender (in the category communication design) and its Afskeep campaign in the category mixed media campaign – below-the-line. In addition, Joe Public also received silver for the Pendoring magazine advertisement Riaan in the 2009 Pendoring campaign. It’s interesting to note that Pendoring campaigns often also excel at other awards events such as the Loeries, where elements of various Pendoring campaigns have been awarded gold, silver and bronze. Moreover, Joe Public also received silver Pendorings for two advertisements in the Truly South African category, namely District Nine (TV) and Spark Hope (print).

Spytjytgekyk-driehoek-baaibroekHot on Joe Public’s heels was Ogilvy Johannesburg, which not only walked away with two gold and two s ilver Pendoring trophies, but also bagged Pendoring’s highest accolade, the Prestige Award, in the category Original Afrikaans for its humurous and expressive campaign for Exclusive Books titled Hiertjou-broodblik, Kanniehorie-Kakofonie-Klapsoekpyp, Papier-Vampier, Roekelose-rampokker-resieskombie, Spytjytgekyk-driehoek-baaibroek. Besides including an overseas study trip of R25 000 for the overall winner, the Prestige prize this year also entails free advertising space/airtime of a whopping R2.5 million, sponsored by a number of Pendoring partners, for the client of the winning advertisement. In addition to the Prestige Award, gold and silver for its Exclusive Books campaign, Ogilvy bagged another gold Pendoring in the category Truly South African, TV for the topical and uplifting campaign Selinah (for Topsy Foundation). The agency’s campaign in the ambient category, Stirrers (also for Exclusive Books), netted the agency a second silver Pendoring. Other gold Pendoring winners this year were Baie-Lingual Blink Stefanus (Man trou met Logo – direct marketing & promotions), Black River F.C. (Will not support England – Truly South African, print) Draftfcb Cape Town 80 for Santam – communication design) and TBWA\Hunt Lascaris (the campaign Funeral/Tatollo for Doom – Truly South African, radio), with one gold each. Three silver Pendorings were awarded to Draftfcb Johannesburg for Skaap (TV with a production budget exceeding R350 000), Hiluxie (radio) and Jakkals trou met wolf se vrou (posters).

skerpAwa r d s s h o w A f r i k a a n s a d ve r t i s i n g i s g o i n g f r o m s t r e n g t h t o s t r e n g t h

Prestige Award, Ogilvy Johannesburg – Exclusive Books

�Gold Communication Design, Joe Public – Adventkalender 1


A number of agencies also won one silver Pendoring, including Draftfcb Cape Town for Die storie in die storie (magazines), TBWA\Hunt Lascaris for Slovo Divas (Truly South African, TV), Etiket for My buurvrou (online advertising), tbsp///beyond the line for kykNET KKNK (mixed media campaign – below-the-line), Saatchi & Saatchi for Môre met Francois (TV with a production budget of less than R350 000), Net#work BBDO for Beggar (Truly South African, TV) and MetropolitanRepublic for Forrest Gump (Truly South African, radio). In the student categories, Vega the Brand Communications School (Durban) was not only awarded two gold Pendorings for Flipside (for Kick Racism) – the Afrikaans version in the category above-the-line advertising and the English version in the category Truly South African – the Afrikaans version of Flipside also received the award as the overall student winner. Northwest University bagged one gold Pendoring for its through-the-line mixed media campaign Roofies, while the AAA School of Advertising with Bommie, Emmer (above-the-line advertising) and Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University with Kaler Jonker, Groter Pronker (Truly SA) each received a silver Pendoring.

The popular Klipdrift advertisement Vriendelike Frikkie (for Distell) was awarded the Mense se Doring for being voted the best liked Afrikaans advertisement this past decade by the public. Besides all the Pendoring trophies that were awarded at the gala event, the winners of a number of other Pendoring competitions and promotions were also announced. In the Ads24 promotion for creative agencies and design studios to show their mettle with Afrikaans and design in a T-shirt competition, Romano Cardinal of Lowe Bull, Cape Town received the award for best T-shirt design, while Heidi Kasselman of Lowe Bull, Johannesburg triumphed with the best copy on a T-shirt. Craig Murie of TBWA\Hunt Lascaris was the overall winner of the best T-shirt. Lucky du Plessis and Tarryn Bezuidenhout of Volcano Advertising walked away with the laurels in the Pendoring rap competition for agencies and students, which won them a cruise on luxury liner from Cape Town to Walvis Bay. View all the winning entries at www.pendoring.co.za

�Gold Direct Marketing & Promotions, Baie-Lingual Blink Stefanus – Man trou met logo



more than paper

The Forest Stewardship Council™ through international standards supports environmentally appropriate, socially benefi cial, and economically viable management of the world’s forests; it evaluates, accredits and monitors certifi cation bodies that comply.

SINCE 2010CELEBRATING ANTALIS’ FSC™ CERTIFICATION

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In 2002, the Brand Design Council (then Think), together with Sappi, established the Sappi Thinkahead Student Awards, in order to promote excellence in design among graduating design students – as such it is the only awards platform aimed at helping final year designers prepare their portfolios for job interviews, while achieving recognition for outstanding bodies of work. The awards are open to all graphic design and visual communication students who are in their final year of study. Students are required to submit a digital portfolio of their best work. Overall portfolios are judged and the most happening young artists rewarded. This year the Gold Award went to Helene Botha from North-West University for her entries for Bosele Paper and the Toffie Festival. The Platinum Award went to Micaela Reeves from University of Pretoria in the Book Design category. Said Glenda Venn of the Brand Design Council, "Ten years ago the

board of directors of Think – the South African Graphic Design Council – put forward a proposal that, along with the founding sponsor Sappi, we promote excellent student work through an annual competition that recognises the best portfolios entering the industry each year. Since then the competition has awarded more than 200 students and assessed in excess of 1 500 portfolios." "Many previous winners have gone on to become leading designers in the industry. "In the last ten years, we've had three different champions in the Sappi marketing department, four different administrative assistants and three name changes. Not once has there been any questioning of the continued support for this competition. That says a lot about how much value the industry places on fostering new talent," Venn said.

www.thinkaheadawards.org.za

back to the futureS t u d e n t d e s i g n i n t h e s p o t l i g h t a t t h e S a p p i T h i n k A h e a d S t u d e n t Awa r d s 2 0 1 0


�Platinum Winner – Micaela Reeves, University of Pretoria


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�Each year, the Brand Design Council sends a themed collateral kit to all institutions as part of the Call to Entry. Institutions are then asked to use these items as part of their drive to get their final year students to enter the awards. This year the winning institution was the University of Pretoria, for their campaign called ‘The TYPE of students who Thinkahead’


wo R k / AwA R d S

�Gold Winner – Helene Botha, North-West University


*it’s out there!enjin is the only south african *print and online magazine dedicated to professional

design and visual communication

reach an audience of designers, studios, art directors, corporate design departments, ad agencies, digital designers, illustrators, photographers and students

– everyone involved in visual communication

some of the things enjin readers do:specify paper and print for annual reportscreate corporate identities and other literaturebuy stock images and commission photographers and illustratorsmake commercials for print and tvdesign websites and other multimedia and interactive productsuse technology every day (especially macs) and the software and hardware that run on themuse state-of-the-art photography equipmentbuy beautifully-designed lifestyle office and home products

see enjin.co.za for more information on advertising in enjin magazine or call +27(0) 84 445-5067; [email protected]

A S P A C E F O R C R E A T I V E P R O F E S S I O N A L S .CO.ZA NEWSFLASH


The third annual Bookmark Awards, which awards digital marketing and publishing excellence, seems to have started finding its feet on the local awards circuit. It has grown from 120 entries at its launch in 2008 to 229 in 2009 and finally reached the 400 mark in 2010. It has also become known for its uncompromising stand against giving out awards just for the sake of it. Nikki Cockcroft, chairperson of the Bookmarks awards and deputy-chair of the Digital Media and Marketing Association (DMMA), formerly the OPA, says that the Bookmarks are increasingly being recognised as a credible and hard-to-win award. Last year no Golds were given out at the awards, and so far no agency has won a Grand Prix in the course of its existence. With its focus on measurability and results (which counts towards 40 per cent of the final score), pretty pictures won't win you one of these. It's not about running an ad in the Benoni Times to meet entry requirements, says Cockcroft, it's about delivery. Judging by two panelsJudging is done by two panels, one for the agency category and one for the publishing category, and each consists of five local judges and one international judge plus a jury chair. This year, the publishing panel was chaired by AdVantage editor Louise Marsland and consisted of Suhela Gremmel (ADTECH AG, Germany), JP Farinha (GM designate for Property24), Chris Roper (editor, Mail & Guardian Online), Matthew Buckland (publisher, Memeburn), Timothy Spira (CEO of FinMedia24) and Heléne Lindsay (marketing, Brite Blue). The agency panel consists of jury chair Jack Kruger (head of digital, Old Mutual), Chris Colborn (chief experience officer, R/GA), Matt Ross (executive creative director, Tribal DDB), Anton Moulder (creative director, Urbian), Evan Milton (strategy director, Native), Dylan Jones (creative director, Futurestate) and Scott Gray (client strategy director, Quirk eMarketing). Not endorsed by Creative CircleInterestingly, the Bookmarks have not been endorsed by the Creative Circle, even though the DMMA and the Creative Circle oversee a quarterly Digital Ad of the Month award (its ad of the month, just quarterly, hmmm). Winners receive automatic entry into the Bookmarks. Cockcroft says this is because the Bookmarks are results-focused, but then I thought all advertising was. Immature or wild at heart?Either one could describe the Bookmarks awards evening on 18 November, where the digital marketing and publishing insustries took the opportunity to pat one another on the back – albeit cautiously. Held at Brio in Cape Town, the evening kept guests on their feet for two and a half hours, literally, since no seating was available. The vibe was clubby, with MC Don Packett looking ready to take a club to the audience and batter them into silence (“Shut up. That fucking works.” really did not), the confined space flashing

conversations around the hall like those stupid green strobe lights they kept shining into my eyes. I’ve come to realise there is a reason award shows sit people down at tables and ply them with food or drink. The MC never had a hope of managing or engaging his audience; with events taking place upfront and obscured by several hundred heads, those at the back had little to do but catch up with other industry folk. Trust digital junkies to turn any event into a networking opportunity. At the end of it, an annoyed Packett simply tweeted, “The crowd at #bookmarks2010 are honestly the rudest bunch of f*cks I’ve ever had to entertain. Have some respect for ur industry. Pathetic.” Sure fire way to win them over. The porn, strip club and JZ’s Facebook relationship status jokes didn’t work, either. For the digital agency crowd, the evening can only be described as disappointing. The awards were few and far between and consisted mostly of Bronzes and a handful of Silvers. Not a single Gold was given out in this category. No awards were given out in six of the listed categories. Is SA’s industry that bad? If so, clients should be mightily annoyed, considering the judges' focus on measurability and results. Of the twenty awards given out (eighteen Pixels and two Best of Show), Ogilvy Interactive stood out with two Silvers and Best of Agency Show (Integrated), thanks to its Goodbye Citi campaign. Gloo won two Silvers and a Bronze, Trigger Isobar two Silvers, Click2Customers won a Silver and Best of Agency Show (Best Paid Search Campaign). ClickThinking got two Bronzes and a Silver and YuppieChef a Bronze and a Silver. New kid on the block Native went home with a single Bronze in this category, as it did at the Loeries earlier this year, thanks to Stonewall+. Reached all touch pointsCockcroft says the awards' organisers, all volunteers, are comfortable that it has reached all the touch points possible in the broader digital industry. The challenge now lies in extending the reach of the award to a broader audience. This will be central to planning for next year's awards. _This article first appeared on Biz-Community. Herman Manson is Cape Town Contributing Editor (@marklives)

bookmark thisT h e b o o k m a r k Awa r d s h a s b u i l t s o m e c r e d i b i l i t y w i t h f o c u s o n c a m p a i g n r e s u l t s , w r i t e s h e r m a n m a n s o n



Seeking to answer questions around magazine strategy in the information age, publishers from across the country gathered at the Cape Town International Convention Centre for the first annual SAPPI MPASA (Magazine Publishers Association of South Africa) Media Summit in November. The main theme seemed to be that journalism and marketing will continue to move ever closer, with the wall once separating them being steadily dismantled. By publishers. And that's a good thing. A prelude to the day's main draw, the PICA awards (the magazine publishing industry's annual award show), the summit was meant to explore what the magazine landscape will look like five years from now. There seemed to be few answers. Keynote interviewJames R Gaines (@JamesRGaines), former managing editor of People, Time and Life magazine before he become editor-in-chief of FLYP [http://www.flypmedia.com], a now defunct biweekly multimedia magazine published online, and later CEO of StoryRiver Media, was the keynote interview at the summit. Tim Modise was tasked with interviewing Gaines in what turned into a fairly broad conversation on Gaines' work and his views on the future of magazines and journalism. The audience received many familiar sound bites, such as "storytelling can be done in multiple mediums," "the sound of inauthenticity is loud," "media has become social," that media should embrace loss of control over flow of information, and that the Internet is a new medium not suited for repurposed content. The interview never quite came together to allow a proper narrative on the digital future of magazines to emerge, though. What was interesting was Gaines' take on the future of content, in that he advocated a closer relationship between publishers and advertisers to generate more revenue, and for the breaking down of walls that separate newsrooms from marketing departments. Storytelling, not journalismGaines is selling storytelling, not journalism in its more traditional sense, to anybody with a story to tell. It's not a sell that goes down well with journalists, and Gaines freely admits that he has given up trying to sell his particular angle on storytelling to the editorial side of media. He simply no longer engages with them, out of frustration he says; instead he's pitching to the people controlling the purse strings. They seem to be buying, and his sentiment on the closer association between journalism and advertising would be echoed several times during the course of the day. Modise didn't seem interested in pursuing this particular debate on the value of independent journalism in magazine publishing (think cellulite creams and FairLady) which meant Gaines never had an opportunity to fully contextualise his comments – if, in fact, there were any contextualising on offer. Gaines supported the separation of digital and offline divisions within media organisations. His reasoning, that digital people get eaten

not worth itT h e f i r s t a n n u a l m a g a z i n e s u m m i t o f f e r s n o c r y s t a l b a l l o n m e d i a f u t u r e , w r i t e s h e r m a n m a n s o n

R e v i e w / m Ag A z i n e S

" g a i n e s i s s e l l i n g s t o r y t e l l i n g , n o t j o u r n a l i s m i n i t s m o r e t r a d i t i o n a l s e n s e , t o a n y b o d y w i t h a s t o r y t o t e l l . i t ' s n o t a s e l l t h a t g o e s d o w n w e l l w i t h j o u r n a l i s t s , a n d g a i n e s f r e e l y a d m i t s t h a t h e h a s g i v e n u p t r y i n g t o s e l l h i s p a r t i c u l a r a n g l e o n s t o r y t e l l i n g t o t h e e d i t o r i a l s i d e o f m e d i a . h e s i m p l y n o l o n g e r e n g a g e s w i t h t h e m , o u t o f f r u s t r a t i o n h e s a y s ; i n s t e a d h e ' s p i t c h i n g t o t h e p e o p l e c o n t r o l l i n g t h e p u r s e s t r i n g s . "


R e v i e w

by print, illustrates his frustration with media organisations trying to repurpose old models on a new medium rather than inventing new ones. Gaines believes the iPad changes the "Net from a utility to something you can relax with" – in short, it changes customers' expectations, and this, he believes, constitutes a bright light for magazine publishers at the end of the tunnel. "Broadband is manifest destiny"Even so, the iPad is still a primitive medium; publishers have not yet invented how they will engage with readers in the future, says Gaines. A future in which he predicts "broadband is manifest destiny" and where print will recede from people's lives as broadband rolls out greater bandwidth to take up more of their time. Gaines traced the history of knowledge transfer, with oral communication overtaken by print and print being overtaking by social communication (where yesteryear's storytellers listen and their listeners now have a chance speak). Dismantling editorial/marketing divideBrita Reid, media director at planning and buying agency MediaCompete, again advocated the dismantling of the editorial/marketing divide as the future of advertising. Indeed. OMD – South Africa's #1 independent media specialist. It even has a website!* Content marketing and branded entertainment were definitely key to how panellists saw the future of marketing, and they are certainly part of the answer. How publishers adopt these concepts (jettison editorial independence) was the question unsatisfactorily answered. Virginia Hollis, from The MediaShop, sensibly argued that the South African Advertising Research Foundation (SAARF) needed to change how it conducts research if it's going to successfully integrate digital in its audience research. Nobody suggested media planners should think outside the Excel spread sheets filled with AMPS figures that have become their unimaginative comfort zone or how to incentivise them doing so (hint: clients looking at digital strategy, thinking WTF, you're fired). Competition from a broad spectrumOne of the most sensible quotes came from keynote speaker and International Federation of the Periodical Press (FIPP) president Chris Llewellyn, when he said magazine publishers need to stop measuring the success of their magazine products against other magazines. Competition is coming from across a broad spectrum of media, including digital. On the downside, he couldn't see value in editors beyond them being "filters" separating quality content from everything else. It prompted AdVantage editor Louise Marsland to retweet The Daily Maverick's Branko Brkic (who was not at the summit but following

remotely on Twitter), who believes that magazine editors should be both visionary and brand custodians. "Calling him just a filter is simply wrong," Brkic tweeted. Outsourcing content productionLlewellyn saw content production in publishing being outsourced in the future (in SA few magazines have large editorial staff, so it's already a reality here). He held forth TV – separating content production from broadcasting – as a possible future business model for magazines. The final two panels of the day were dedicated to "A 21st Century Strategy for Magazines" and Journalism 2.0. In the former, RamsayMedia MD Stuart Lowe noted that social media starts the conversation between a magazine and its readers long before 'thud' factor of print hitting the shelves. It was here where one of the panellists remarked that the importance of good journalism seems to be missing at the conference. It provides a critical insight into the conversation publishers are having with themselves. A 21st century strategy for magazines seemingly doesn't include budget for independent journalism. It goes straight against the strategy adopted by newspaper brands, trying to rise above the muck that is most of the information available online, of beefing up their investigative news teams. Talk some courage intoLinking up with Gaines' view on the future of journalism, New Media Publishing MD Bridget McCarney tried to talk some courage into the gathered publishers by suggesting ad agencies still need the storytelling skills of (custom) publishers. During the final panel discussion of the day, on the future of journalism, talk centred on community-building using social platforms and jokes about coming up with a new description for journalists. Sam Wilson, editor-in-chief at Women24, enthused on how she no longer needs to spend money on food journalism. She gets all her content from her readers – free. Pretty depressingFrom a journalist's perspective it was pretty depressing stuff. The future of magazines should hold more than being multimedia brochures beholden to special interests. Hoping people will start paying for information again, while decreasing the value of that information by pandering to advertisers, seems counter-intuitive. _This article first appeared on Biz-Community. Herman Manson is Cape Town Contributing Editor (@marklives)


p R o c e S S

framedA f avo u r i t e m o u n t i n g p r o c e s s f o r f i n e - a r t p h o t o g r a p h y i s n o w ava i l a b l e i n S o u t h A f r i c a

Framed by Orms in Cape Town has become the sole local agent for DIASEC® – making South Africa one of only eight countries in the world where the exclusive face-mounting process is licensed. DIASEC® is a patented method of mounting photographic prints on transparent Perspex (acrylic glass), while the back of the print is mounted onto an archival aluminium backing called Dibond. In other words, the print is sandwiched between the Perspex and Dibond resulting in a perfectly flat, high-gloss finish that does not require a traditional frame – a hanging mechanism is attached directly to the aluminium backing to hang the print on a wall. DIASEC® photographs appear to have more vibrant colour, subtle details are considerably enhanced and look sharper due to the light penetration and refraction of Perspex compared to the standard glass used for framing. The DIASEC® process results in fine-art photography of an incredible archival standard. There is also no heating used in the process – the quality of your valuable images are never put in jeopardy. The Dibond backing has a polyethylene core, with a layer of aluminium on both sides; it has a limited expansion coefficient, so the backing gives the artwork great strength. The finished product, however, remains flexible, enabling it to withstand temperature and humidity changes. Orms’ craftsmen underwent intensive training with agents from the DIASEC® head office in the Netherlands, and the workshop occupies separate premises to meet the stringent requirements for a spotlessly clean, dust-free environment for the mounting process. The company recommends photographic Lightjet prints in matt, gloss and metallic

finish, as well as inkjet prints. All prints are available at the Pro Photo Lab at Orms – in small or large format. ExhibitionSalon91 on Kloof Street recently played host to the Tretchikoff & Me exhibition. This exciting exhibition featured vintage Tretchikoff prints, juxtaposed against the contemporary responses of local South African artists. One that stood out was Niklas Zimmer – a German-South African artist, photographer and musician. This was not only due to his unique interpretation of the subject matter, but also the technique he used to frame and mount his exhibition; Zimmer had approached Orms to mount his prints using DIASEC®. Niklas explains, "I have been waiting for a long time for an opportunity to see my photographs presented in DIASEC®. When the process became available here, I was very excited to give it a try. The effect DIASEC® has on the colour, contrast and sharpness of my work is startling; because I make very tight compositions, I am delighted to be able to have the images float freely on the wall without any borders or frames. All in all, the DIASEC® process really made my photos on this show." Images for DIASEC® can either be sent in digital format to the Pro Photo Lab at Orms for printing, or directly to Framed by Orms in printed form. The finished product can then be delivered anywhere in South Africa. www.framedbyorms.co.za

�Niklas Simmer, Tretchikoff & Me �Charles Faull (image by Gareth Weber)


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A d n Au S e A

The pages of the Sandton Chronicle are aflame. An unprecedented double page spread has been devoted to letters from readers infuriated by the cutting down of seventeen mature indigenous trees on Main Road in Bryanston; apparently they were obscuring a billboard. Readers are livid, and there is talk of boycotting any brand that advertises on the space that is now more visible thanks to this arboreal massacre. Joburg residents have been battling the encroachment of billboards for years. David Ogilvy, who famously repeated Ogden Nash’s aphorism that he’d never seen a billboard as lovely as a tree, would surely have sympathized with them (perhaps not typing up a ranty email and sending it to his local newspaper, but there in spirit all the same). Billboards are only the most obvious example of the way in which advertisers claim ownership of our eyeballs. Thanks to Trevor Noah and Cell C, I’ve had an epiphany. We’ve become so used to being surrounded by ads and logos that we filter them out and stop noticing them – so it was with a jolt that I realized exactly how much of our public space has been coopted in order to remind us to buy things. You can’t even sit on the loo without looking at an ad (although, I’ll admit that the cubicle is the one place I don’t mind seeing an ad. It’s something to look at while you sit there). Joburg has been colonized, and every day a little more of it is sold off to someone who has something incredibly important to tell us. Outdoor advertising can add to the identity of a city – imagine Times Square without its neon – but it can also subtract from it. In 2007, Sao Paolo virtually banned outdoor advertising under its Clean City law. Even a Boeing 737 bedecked in an ad for The Simpsons Movie was prevented from flying in Sao Paulo airspace. Underneath all of that advertising, the city found its authentic self: the architecture, the history (and, yes, the grime) that had been hidden until now. The city council received widespread support from the public and continues to maintain its stringent laws. “I’m not against advertising,” Mayor Gilberto Kassab said at the time. “I’m in favour of it. I’m just

against all this disgusting paraphernalia.” Which brings me to the question: should there be less “disgusting paraphernalia” around? Well, take a look at the campaign I mentioned earlier. (Or, if you prefer, don’t take a look at it, which would be difficult because Trevor is everywhere). He’s on lift doors and escalators and mall touch screens, on every website and every third billboard. His face looms gigantic in the Sandton Gautrain station and stares out from every stop on the way to the airport, where he’s pretty

much everywhere too. No matter where you look, there he is. It’s impossible to escape him. What has made this dominance of the city by a single advertiser even more obvious is the fact that all the executions are virtually identical. This is great for brand consistency, not so great for the people who have to look at it. It’s visually relentless. That’s the sneaky thing about outdoor: you can’t avoid it. You can’t change TV channels or flick over to another page. I have no choice but to look at these ads wherever I go. Joburg is effectively in the grip of commercial totalitarianism, its citizens constantly instructed to tell Trevor what they think. What can we learn from this? Well, for a start, more consideration should be given to art direction in big outdoor campaigns. Offer some variety; understand that when everything looks the same, your brand quickly becomes a source of irritation. (Look at the 8ta billboards, by way of comparison; each execution is different and therefore interesting, at least for

the moment.) Running a fairly traditional ad campaign everywhere may also not be the most effective way of ensuring top-of-mind awareness – why does outdoor have to look like print anyway? It would help, too, if media planners held back from recommending such intensive out of home campaigns in future; you really don’t have to cover every available surface with your logo. I’m hoping that Cell C does not inspire anyone to follow their example. Less, in this case, is more.

_Sarah Britten is Strategic Planning Director at Young & Rubicam

disgusting paraphernaliaj o b u r g e r s , e s p e c i a l l y t h o s e r e s i d e n t i n t h e c i t y ’ s l e a f y, b o o m - g a t e d s u b u r b s , h ave b e e n b a t t l i n g t h e e n c r o a c h m e n t o f b i l l b o a r d s

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